Reusable Shipping Containers

One of the biggest impacts business and industry can make on reducing discards to landfills is to replace single-use shipping containers with reusable ones. Over the course of its lifetime, a two-cubic-foot plastic, reusable shipping container making 250 trips will replace 250 single-use cardboard boxes, reducing waste by 98.5 percent and costs by up to 92 percent per use. Reusable containers may have additional benefits, including reduced shipping damage due to sturdier containers and lower labor costs associated with assembling and breaking down single-use boxes. Deterrents to reusable shipping containers include higher initial costs, aesthetics of containers after several uses, the need to return containers, and storage room for containers.

Source: Before You Recycle, Choose to Reuse, NC Cooperative Extension