There is no doubt that online shopping has changed the way we use cardboard. One simple click online and your purchase will arrive at your doorstep – probably inside of a cardboard box. But how is this affecting us?
Since the rise of the Internet, things have gotten a lot easier for consumers to shop. Fast Company reports that about 165 billion packages are shipped in the US each year, with the cardboard used roughly equating to more than 1 billion trees. Instead of physically driving to a brick and mortar store, consumers log online and purchase items from the convenience of their homes. While this is technically cutting down on individual’s carbon footprints by not taking their car out to the store, it is increasing the accumulation of cardboard boxes.
While the majority of this accumulated cardboard is recycled, there is still a whopping 10 percent of cardboard boxes that end up in landfills. But some experts say that recycling cardboard boxes isn’t enough to help the environment. Overall, most experts point to consumerism as the problem and the answer.
If cardboard boxes are accumulating due to consumers buying products online, what can be done to reduce environmental waste? One way consumers can combat this issue and help the environment is by making eco-friendly choices. Implementing green behaviors into your everyday life is one major way everyone can reduce cardboard waste and make the planet a little greener. Brand-owners, retailers also need to find greener solutions to help reduce the packaging impact on the environment.
Click here for more ways to reuse cardboard boxes and cardboard boxes for sale, or visit Leader Box today!