:: Boxes For Reuse :: Why Reuse


	Why Reuse? Most of us believe that sound sustainability practices matter.
	Adding a “don’t print unless necessary” tag to your e-mails is nice. But we don’t think that’s enough. To have a real impact on the environment and your operating costs, the choices have to be big. We started Empty Boxes to help companies take a chunk out of their corporate waste – and save money in the process. But before launching Empty Boxes, we wanted to be sure reusing really benefits the environment. It sounds like a no-brainer – reuse a box so that a new one isn’t made – tree hugged, footprint reduced, end of story. Right? But we realize that to reuse them, boxes have to be collected, stored and transported. Is that better or worse for the environment than recycling? And what about recycling – do the boxes we toss in the bins really get reborn into new boxes? And is a 100% recycled box the real goal?
	We did the research and talked to some experts. Here’s some of what we learned: Reusing one ton of corrugated cardboard saves 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 462 gallons of oil and 3 cubic yards of landfill space. Reusing one ton of corrugated cardboard boxes saves the equivalent of CO2 emissions from 681 gallons of gasoline. Reusing one ton of boxes equals the carbon sequestered by 154 tree seedlings grown for 10 years. More than 78% of corrugated products are being collected for recycling. Of the corrugated collected, approximately 60% goes into making new boxes, another 20% is used to make other paper products and the remaining 20% is exported—mostly to China, which uses fuel and also has environmental impact. Because all fibers eventually break down too much to be made into boxes, in a way, no trees are saved when boxes are constructed from 100% recycled fiber. Some virgin fibers always will be necessary to build a viable box. Between 2000 and 2005, American consumption of cardboard was up about 1.5 percent annually. The world market for corrugated boxes will increase 3.4% between 2008-2013. US demand for corrugated will approach $41 billion in 2012 Want to know more?