You’ve done your move (or had your party with lots of gifts!) and now you’re left with a bunch of extra cardboard boxes. You don’t want to leave them outside in the rain to get soggy or make an extra trip to the dump just to throw out boxes. So what can you do with all of those extra boxes?
Donate to another mover
If someone else is moving, finding in good shape boxes for moving can be difficult or an even pricey project! Post your moving boxes on the Facebook marketplace for free or even on Craigslist, and you may be surprised by how many people may want your gently used moving boxes. This especially goes for wardrobe boxes and other “specialty” cardboard boxes.
Sell your boxes
Services like Boxcycle.com allows you to sell your lightly used cardboard boxes and be cardboard box free! All you have to do is list your boxes online and meet with a buyer of the boxes, and you can collect off of your cardboard boxes.
Town recycling
There are some places that you can take cardboard boxes to be recycled. Very few, but some, local dumps or recycling centers may take cardboard boxes for recycling purposes. Check with your city or town to see if they recycle cardboard boxes or toss them away into a landfill.
Animal shelters
Many animal shelters use cardboard boxes, especially the kinds that cat food cans come in. These cardboard boxes are often used and recycled as disposable cat litter trays. Clever, huh? Check in with your local animal shelter to see if they take boxes, and if they do, which ones they take. We personally know that the Animal Rescue League of NH takes boxes that sterno or any types of cans that are kept on shelves for kitties.
Recycling center
Sometimes towns or cities may have independent recycling centers. Earth 911 has a great cardboard recycling locator tool to help you find the easiest recycling center for you.
Contact a local library or charity
You may be surprised to know that some charities or libraries may be in need of good quality, sturdy cardboard boxes to use. Contact your local library or call around to find out if they need any boxes or know anyone else who may need some boxes.
It’s important to take into consideration that wet cardboard boxes cannot be recycled. Many places will not take pizza boxes, either, due to contamination of food oils on the corrugated cardboard as well. Check with your facility as to what they take.
Have any great ideas for reusing or recycling cardboard boxes? Let us know in the comments below!
Hi , I appreciate every bit of your efforts to let us know about leftover cardboard boxes. In fact, we’re going to study and research it as part of a half-yearly initiative supported by our website and group of partners.