Store as much as you like for as long as you like
Store as much as you like for as long as you like
If there’s one thing that everyone can agree on, it’s that there is far too much plastic in the world already. The last thing we need to do is add more into the mix! Research has shown time and time again that consumers dislike the use of plastic (especially single use), and prefer to buy from businesses that are committed to reducing their usage. In the moving and storage industry, the main culprit of single-use plastic is bubble wrap, closely followed by other commonly used plastic packaging materials like tape. They’re seen as essential to protect your belongings but often end up in landfill as soon as you’re finished with them, causing all sorts of damage to the environment. Thankfully, there are some great eco-friendly alternatives to plastic bubble wrap, and we wanted to share them with you today.
It’s bubble wrap, but better. If you’re looking for a like-for-like swap, the good news is there are plenty of biodegradable bubble wrap products on the market. These do the same thing as plastic bubble wrap (encasing air in a thin film to create a void-filling material) but aren’t made of single-use plastic. Instead, eco bubble wrap is 100% recyclable and oxo-biodegradable, which means it will degrade within a few months of disposal.
Moving blankets are essentially a woollen blanketing material commonly used to protect large items of furniture. They provide good protection and can be a great void-filling material, but you do need to think strategically about how you pack things.
If you’re moving house, a great alternative is actually to use your clothes as fabric for wrapping and protecting delicate items. This is an easy, free option that saves you box space, and is the epitome of eco-friendly!
If you’re looking for an effective void-filler, corrugated cardboard is another easy eco-win. Not only is it widely and easily recyclable, but it’s strong, which gives your belongings great protection for as long as you need it. The only downside is that it isn’t waterproof, which could be a challenge given the UK climate!
Did you know that you can buy packaging materials made from seaweed? It behaves like every other form of packaging material, but it’s much better for the environment to both make and use, and it’s cheaper too! The process of making seaweed packaging absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide from the air, and once it’s been discarded it breaks down faster than fruit! And because it’s a natural material, there are no harmful gasses released into the environment as it breaks down.
Mushroom packaging is another environmentally fuelled packaging material and a great alternative to plastic. It’s made from just 2 ingredients – hemp hurds and mycelium (in other words, mushrooms), and provides a high-performance, cost-effective solution for packaging materials. It was originally designed as a sustainable replacement for polystyrene, and it can be ‘grown’ into custom shapes for brand packaging in just 7 days! Just like seaweed packaging, mushroom packaging is completely natural and biodegradable, causing minimal damage to the environment. For the moving and storage industry though, mushroom packaging is a great alternative to packing peanuts as a void-filler. At Blue Box Self Storage, we understand the damage plastic is causing to the environment, and the impact industries like ours can have. That’s why we do our best to promote environmentally friendly alternatives, and love hearing your suggestions for removing plastic from the moving and storage industry wherever possible. So if you have a suggestion we haven’t mentioned, or a question about eco-friendly packaging materials, just get in touch with the team today.