Think about how much packaging goes in and out of every home, office, and store every single day. Think about how little of that packaging is actually recyclable or biodegradable and gets thrown away regardless. We have found some great products that will help solve this problem.

To protect your products we have found recycled packaging rolls and biodegradable packaging peanuts. CareMail has a product called the CareMail Greenwrap Protective Cushioning Packaging Roll. It is made with renewable energy, 90% recycled materials, and 50% post-consumer materials. As for peanuts, which are typically  made out of that awful material called styrofoam, we have found biodegradable peanuts such as the  Duck CareMail Biodegradable Peanuts which are made out of corn starch and are organic. We also found recycled peanuts such as the  Staples Environmentally Friendly Packaging Peanuts which are made out of the remains of other loose fill.

When it comes to envelopes and boxes, we have found the Henkel CareMail® Rugged Mailer and the Henkel 1143553 CareMail® Box. The mailer is made out of recycled newsprint, which is great for protection. The box is made out of 100% recycled products and 90% post-consumer materials.

The best part of all of these? The peanuts can be used over and over again, and will biodegrade if thrown out, and the boxes, mailer and wrap can be recycled when no longer usable!

Next time you are making a shipment, go with green packaging. You can find these products at Amazon.com at the links above or any office supply store!

There are several reasons for why styrofoam is not eco-friendly: styrofoam is not biodegradable and will sit forever in landfills, not many communities offer recycling programs for styrofoam, and although less harmful to the ozone layer than it used to be, there are still some greenhouse gases in styrofoam.  Often we are told to use paper instead of styrofoam. However, using paper that is not made of recycled material still requires an extensive production process using chemicals and exerting greenhouse gases.

What is the best solution to living without styrofoam? Use recycled plastics or papers if you need to use a disposable product. Make sure to recycle these when you are done. The best solution is to use reusable containers for your food and beverages. Check out our posts  on Klean Kanteen water bottles and TerraCycle’s recycled products. Pay attention to how you package items that you are shipping. Protect your items with recycled material instead of sytrofoam peanuts. Also, be aware when ordering food or going to fast food chains. Many companies are still using sytrofoam. See if paper or plastic containers can be used instead, so you can recycle them when you get home.

Say no to styrofoam. Say yes to reuseable materials.