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We break down the boxes and keep only a few. Hubby sells on Etsy, so he makes the boxes he needs from the cardboard. We send extra to recycle, but really, most get reused.
Someone already suggested consolidating orders and this benefits everybody.
For weed suppression using cardboard in gardening, I think you have to remove ALL the tape, etc., right? I've used cardboard a lot and will use more this summer when I mulch around a bunch of trees in my back yard so I've been saving most of my boxes including ones that get wet so can no longer be recycled. I have so many that it's a bit of pain removing all the stuff that CAN'T go into the lawn/garden, but it's worth it.
Something else I did with my boxes: turned them inside out and used them to mail stuff, eliminating labels and codes that could confuse sensors if left on the outside.
Many boxes can be taken apart on the side that is usually lightly glued, then reassemble it and use package tape (or hot glue if you have it) to put it back together. Looks like a brand new box.
We have a local non profit shop here that the money goes to the local (I know they don't use these words any more but this is how it's known in this area) mental health/mental retardation center. They have a bin where you can drop off boxes any time. Just be sure to take the mailing label off before leaving them. They have a contract with a recycling center that brings them a few more bucks.
This thread is a great example of being mindful about the ease and convenience of online shopping, and aware of the waste it generates. Do you really need to order something from Amazon every other day? There's a poster here who proudly stated that he ordered from Amazon something like 250 times in the past year...that's a helluva lot of cardboard. How about once a week or better, so the shipper can consolidate packages as much as possible.
I get smothered in cardboard packaging at work, it's unavoidable and I don't like it. I reuse as much as I can and use it for painting or other messy projects. When I have too much I post it on Facebook, sometimes people come and take it away.
There is no recycling in my area. It's better to reuse it anyway, and cardboard is great for garden use like others posted.
Yes, we order from Amazon almost daily - convenience, price, options. You may not have noticed the change in packaging lately. Even dresses came compression packed in a small zip bag with a label. I go to the store it is a drive, hanger, dress bag.
Our city has a recycling area where they take both plastics and corrugated cardboard. We flatten them. I believe the city is most likely selling the to a business about 90 miles south that makes pallets out of them, which is a pretty cool thing!
Someone on FreeCycle is almost always looking for cardboard boxes. I keep all my bubble wrap, too, and just had someone come and get a cardboard box full of it.
I also compost small amounts and use some for weed suppression under mulch - and I cover my veg beds in the fall to keep weeds from taking over in spring. It will start to decompose and you can just till it right in when you're ready to plant.
I'm not obsessed about removing the tape from the mulch cardboard. After a few months it will come off on its own and I throw it out. But then I don't mulch over the cardboard, most of the time I pull it up after a season and try to roll up most of the weed seeds that landed on it. This is a vegetable garden.
This is cardboard I get from the garden center and they have big boxes. My personal cardboard just goes in recycling.
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