“I’ve done a little bit of online shopping,” Chloe laughed. Her garage has a good size stack of Amazon boxes, carefully broken down and ready for recycling. “And now I have a bunch of birthday gifts that need to be shipped out. I was going to order shipping boxes online – ironically enough – but then it dawned on me: I have all of these boxes. Why don’t I just use them?”
Using Amazon shipping boxes is environmentally sensible and affordable. In fact, Amazon even makes it possible for you to ship items to charitable organizations for free through the Give Back Box program.
That being said, as an experienced packing and shipping company, we’ve got to tell you that not all Amazon boxes are going to stand up equally well to being used two or more times. Here’s why:
The strength of cardboard boxes is compromised when the box gets crushed. If your Amazon shipment was at the bottom of a pile of heavy boxes when it traveled to you the first time, and then you re-use it and it winds up under another pile of heavy boxes, there is a very real possibility that the box will collapse and the items in it will be damaged or destroyed.
Think carefully about the type of items you plan to ship in recycled boxes. If damage is a concern to you, reinforce these boxes with additional layers of cardboard. Consider cutting up some of your other Amazon boxes to create appropriate reinforcement and dividers to keep objects from knocking against each other. Double-boxing is never a bad idea, especially when you have a surplus of cardboard shipping boxes available.
If you are highly concerned about breakage, talk to your local Boston packing and shipping company. For just a few dollars, they can hook you up with a strong, new cardboard shipping box that will protect your items. It’s worth the investment for peace of mind!