Reused Better Than Recycled Boxes

To reuse or to recycle boxes, that is the question? You hear the terms used frequently, but what exactly do they mean? Which one is truly better for the environment? Let’s explore these questions and try to see which one best fits your company philosophy. One of the main reasons for reuse or recycle is to reduce the amount of garbage sent to landfills. Americans dump more than 100 million tons of trash into landfills yearly. Landfills are safer and less of a nuisance than the open dumps of the past, however no one likes having a landfill around. Space filled with garbage isn’t an ideal situation for the problem that’s why it’s encouraged to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

What is Reuse?
To use an object or material again, again, and again is reuse. It can be used for its original purpose or for another purpose. Reuse of an item means it continues to be a useful, valuable item. It takes the place of a new item that uses energy and other resources to manufacture. Companies can save money when disposing of an item by reselling or donating items that are no longer useful to them, such as outdated computers or cardboard boxes. Reuse helps keep the object out of a landfill, therefore creating less waste. Good examples of reusable items include books, furniture, corrugated boxes, clothes, containers, rechargeable batteries, etc. The reuse of an item helps save energy, save money, extend the life of the item, save natural resources, and reduce waste. Reuse of items makes good business sense.

What is Recycling?
Recycling takes an item that isn’t useful anymore and makes it into something new. Recycling is when your items are collected, converted into raw materials, and remade into a new item. Recycling can be very complex and the effects on the environment are still questionable based on the chemicals, cost, and energy used to recycle.  Items that are recycled on a large scale vary; commonly recycled item include aluminum cans, plastic, cardboard boxes, paper, steel, glass, computers and cell phones. It’s uncommon for a recycled item to be the same as the original material before it was recycled. Recycled items become weaker than the original or the quality is compromised this is known as downstream recycling. When an item is too far down the recycling stream it can no longer be recycled. It is common for items to be up-cycled by making the recycled material into something more expensive than the original item. A good example of this would be jewelry made from  recycled glass or furniture made from recycled aluminum.  By recycling, Americans reduce 32 percent of their waste from going to a landfill. That equates to more than 60 million tons of waste that would be going to a landfill every year.

Conclusion
Recycling is better than filling a landfill, but not as good as reducing or reusing. There are an increasing number of removal services that will sort through your waste for you, separating recycling and reusable material. These services are well worth the effort: reduce, reuse or recycle.