Moving is something we have all done and will most likely have to do again (and again, and again). Whether it's for our home or our company doesn't the hunt for the right cardboard box feel antiquated? We love a company that can take a basic service need, like moving, and make an environmental impact. Read more after the jump.
We’ve all been there: sorting through boxes behind the grocery store, begging for cardboard at the wine shop, being forced to purchase boxes from the moving company. For those of you in the Seattle and Vancouver, BC, area you now have a better option: Frogbox.
The idea is simple. You place an order online, they deliver the moving totes, you pack and move then Frogbox will pick up the empty boxes. The boxes, which can be reused hundreds of times, are actually cleaned after every pickup thus reducing the amount of dirt and bacteria that cardboard boxes can harbor. The trucks use waste stream bio-diesel (from recycled waste oils and cooking oils from restaurants) which lowers emissions and their website is powered by solar energy. And for those of you frog lovers, 1% of Fogbox’s gross revenue is donated to frog habitat restoration. Love it!
We recently wrote about a similar service in the Bay Area . Do you have something like this in your area? If so, let us know!
Photo credit for top photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan4th/ / CC BY 2.0
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Comments (13)
This is kinda taking sustainability too far. For starters, 90% of the boxes people use for moving are already repurposed, to begin with.
Secondly very few people can afford to spend the extra money on such a service, and rely on filching boxes and newspapers from wherever they can get them (not to mention duping friends and family into helping out at a move).
*eyeroll*
I disagree. This is a great idea. Not everyone scavenges boxes for a move, and as long as it doesn't cost any more than buying new boxes, then I can see it being very popular. I'd use them!
Even better is Freecycle, where you can find people offering moving boxes after their move, and you offer them to the next person who needs them when you're done. It's where I always get my moving boxes, it's recycling and you're saving money from having to buy new boxes, what's not to love?
I agree that Freecycle is the premier choice.
Best free boxes I have found are at FedEx Kinko's or similar store. They are big but not big enough and all are the same size.. Ohh yea, I am talking about copy paper boxes and they are plenty available at Kinko's..
I think it is a nice idea. Maybe not for everyone, but could work for some. For example, if you don't own a car, hunting dumpsters for discarded boxes is nearly imposslbe.
But I wonder, in addition to being cleaned after every use, are they fumigated? Things like roaches and ants can make their way into boxes and could be transferred to an unsuspecting participant.
Oh, and there is a group called 'rentagreenbox.com' in LA and Orange county.
Local moves only though--you can only have the boxes for two weeks and they only ship in the local area.
If you also factor in the waste incurred with ripped boxes that cannot be re-used and all that packing tape (which can get really expensive!), this seems like a decent alternative solution. But it's too expensive right now, I think.
I'm pretty sure there are quite a few of these type of options - our office recently used this in DC. One good thing is that it makes you unpack!
Try usedcardboardboxes.com. They collect gently used boxes from large shipping companies that would have otherwise been thrown away. They ship them to your door, and its comparable, if not a little cheaper, to brand new boxes. I've used them twice, because either my box search came up empty, or I didn't have time to box hunt.
Rent-a-Green is a great company and were the first to bring this idea to the states. They are currently servicing every city in Orange County, Los Angeles County and select areas of the Inland Empire and San Diego County:
http://earthfriendlymoving.com/greenbox/
We have an awesome “public” email system at my workplace (of about 800 employees) where people can post about local events, stuff for sale, nanny/housekeeper recos, etc. There are constant posts from colleagues either requesting or offering moving boxes. It works out great!
I have 1 thing to say about reused boxes:
Bedbugs.