What to Do with Your Packing Materials After Moving House
Moved house recently? Surrounded by cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and plastic sheets that you don’t want to send to landfill? This guide will tell you what to do with it all so you can get on with settling into your new home.
Most packing materials can be recycled, or reused. Local councils differ in the recycling facilities they offer, so your first port of call might be to look on your council’s website.
Alternatively, local housing developments and retail parks often offer recycling facilities, so there might be collection points nearby that you can use for a wider range of materials than your council will collect. You can use Recycle Now to search for facilities to recycle particular materials, and read on to get some ideas on what else you could do.
What to do with cardboard moving boxes
How to reuse cardboard
If they’re still in good shape, you can reuse cardboard boxes for all sorts of things.
- Give them to anyone you know who’s moving house soon.
- Get creative and wrap them in material or paper to create baskets for your shelves to create neat storage.
- Decorate them with your children to make castles, cars, pirate ships, or play houses.
- Accept that your cat owns them all now. Choose the one they seem to use most, add an old towel and your cat will use that far more than they would use a purpose-bought fancy cat basket!
- Keep a couple in the boot of your car to organise shopping, or keep takeaway food warm on the drive home.
How to recycle cardboard
Boxes that can’t be reused (either because you’ve run out of space, or they’re in poor condition) can be recycled. Cardboard is widely recycled, but some councils don’t collect cardboard with your other recycling waste. You might need to take them to your local recycling centre or search for your nearest cardboard recycling point here.
Don’t have children yourself? There might be a local enterprise in your area that can use things like cardboard boxes and tubes in community projects for children to play with. Have a look for your local collection point. Some schools will also happily take things like cardboard boxes and tubes for craft activities.
Make sure you remove packing tape from your cardboard before taking it to be recycled. Packing tape, like all sticky tape, can’t be recycled and it doesn’t degrade — it’s pure landfill fodder. Next time you need to stock up on packing tape, look for paper packaging tape; it’s just as effective, and can be recycled.
What to do with bubble wrap
How to reuse bubble wrap
You might have used this to keep your valuables safe in transit. Bubble wrap is pretty versatile:
- Pop it, to alleviate stress.
- If you sell things online from time to time, flatten it out and store it in a drawer to use to keep your items safe in transit.
- Protect plants outside during winter (it keeps them safe from frost but allows sunlight to filter through).
- Use it as insulation over winter (spray a bit of water on your windows, add a layer of bubble wrap — the water will make it stick — and keep drafts out!).
- Keep some in your car boot to wrap frozen food to keep it cold on the journey home from the shop.
- If frost is forecast overnight, put bubble wrap over your car windscreen (hold it in place with the wipers) and you’ll have a frost-free windscreen in the morning.
How to recycle bubble wrap
Unfortunately, bubble wrap is notoriously difficult to recycle. Most council recycling centres don’t offer this. However, some major supermarkets do — they also offer recycling of ‘soft’ plastic (the kind that you can crinkle up with your hand, like carrier bags or crisp packets).
There are eco-friendly alternatives on the market that can be recycled. If you need to restock your bubble wrap in the future, look for green alternatives that can be recycled, such as this biodegradable, recyclable bubble wrap from Safestore.
What to do with plastic sheets
How to reuse plastic sheets
Plastic sheets can be repurposed as protective sheets for decorating — they’re a bit fiddly and can stick to your feet/shoes, so tape them down (using paper tape of course) to keep them in place.
They can also be used to lay on your paint (in a roller tray or in the paint tin) between applying coats of paint, to keep the paint wet. You won’t have to wash your brushes and tray between uses!
How to recycle plastic sheets
If they’re clean (that is, not covered in paint!), they can be recycled at the same places that will recycle bubble wrap. Terracycle works with organisations to provide collection points for harder-to-recycle materials, including packing waste. Check your local stores or find a local drop off point via Terracycle.
What to do with packing peanuts
How to reuse packing peanuts
Polystyrene packing peanuts can be reused in lots of ways, such as:
- Reuse them for packaging — either next time you move house, or for sending items in the post that need some void fill to keep them safe.
- Add a layer to the bottom of a plant pot for instant easy drainage.
- Make necklaces or use them for printing paint in an arts and crafts session with your children.
How to recycle packing peanuts
This depends on what kind of packing peanuts you’ve got: biodegradable or polystyrene.
Run a couple under the tap — if they break down into mush quickly, they’re starch-based and biodegradable. If they don’t, they’re polystyrene.
Biodegradable packing peanuts can be turned into mush and washed down the sink, or added to your garden to create good compost material.
Styrofoam packing peanuts can’t, sadly, be recycled.
FAQs
Can cardboard moving boxes be recycled after use?
Yes, absolutely. Council recycling sites have containers for cardboard, and several will collect cardboard as part of your kerbside collection.
What should I do with bubble wrap and plastic film?
Check your local supermarket to see if they offer ‘soft’ plastic recycling in store. Switch to more easily recyclable materials for future use — biodegradable bubble wrap is available now, and you can use bedsheets and towels instead of plastic sheets to protect furniture during a move.
How should I dispose of packing peanuts responsibly?
If they are biodegradable, you can wash your peanuts down the sink — they are starch based and will not harm the water supply. Alternatively, use them to fertilise your garden. Styrofoam packing peanuts will need to be added to your general waste; make sure they are bagged securely so they don’t escape into the wider environment.
Are there charities or organisations that accept used packing materials?
Yes, many supermarkets accept used packing materials for recycling, and local charitable organisations such as Scrapbox will accept donations of boxes, cardboard tubes and other things that can be turned into arts and crafts or creative play materials for children.
Need storage or eco friendly supplies?
If you want short term storage for leftover packing materials or you need eco friendly moving supplies, find your nearest Safestore or contact our team for friendly advice. No pressure, just help when you need it.
