Recycling Packaging Material

Does your packaging get recycled?  What happens to the packaging that is used to transport your internet order to your house and where does it come from?  Have you ever wondered about how much packaging gets used only once and is not recycled again?  Rather it's put straight in the bin. 

Well not at Heartworks.  When we receive something in the post we keep its packaging for another use.   When we have to fulfil an order, we go straight to our section where all our old packaging material is stored and find the most apt one.  We make no excuse for this other than it makes sense to give this material another job, at least one more time.  

It's nearly not enough to recycle your packaging by bringing it to the recycling bin.  A lot of the material might never be recycled, ie styrofoam (unless you bring it to the dump where they have a section for it) or the plastic bubble wrap? - can we be sure that it doesn't end up in the ocean along with all the other plastic? REUSE YOUR PACKAGING!  Better still, insist on the minimum of packaging with your purchase and insist that it is ecologically sound and biodegradable!  Complain if your purchase comes with an exaggerated amount of packaging!  It's not cheap to get rid of rubbish these days so why should you put up with a bulk of packaging material that needs to end up in the bin?

The Single Use of Plastic Bags

These days, practically no one expects a single-use plastic bag to put their purchases in.  They come armed with their own shopping bag that they can use over and over again.  Otherwise they might get charged for a bag- this charge certainly dissuades one from forgetting to bring along their own.  But it transpires that in some of the small shops they still give out plastic bags for some little purchase you might have made.  In our books, this practice has to stop. 

Paper bags would be a great substitute in a lot of cases and even there, we should be limiting the use of paper bags too.  Really the seller or shopkeeper should ask  their customer if a bag, paper or other,  is required at all.  You'll find that the customer quickly gets used to the idea and will have their own bag ready and waiting to hold their new purchase.  LET'S REDUCE AND REUSE