Reuse envelopes – save money and the environment!

Filed in Reuse by on May 15, 2009 • 2 Comments
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reuse envelopes to reduce wasteI’ve been carefully cutting open any envelopes and packaging I receive for the past few years; long before I began my zero waste adventures.

I have to be honest, I initially did it to save money. I sell the occasional item on eBay and post unwanted books on Amazon, so it made sense to keep jiffy envelopes and bubble wrap. That meant I could keep my postage and packaging costs competitive.

50 business envelopes cost £2.50 and a pack of 50 jiffy envelopes costs over £30 in my local Post Office. Yet every day, I get envelopes of all shapes and sizes through my letter box; for free. It seems crazy to rip them open, throw them away and then buy new!

Imagine how many envelopes and how much packaging material you might be throwing away every day into the landfill. Even if you put it to be recycled, Reuse comes before recycling, so why not start saving your envelopes, bubble wrap and jiffy bags for future reuse in your house?

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About the Author ()

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (2)

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  1. maisie dalziel says:
    May 16, 2009 at 8:36 am

    I do this with any jiffy envelopes which come thru my door.

    I sell books on http://www.greenmetropolis.com and the ethos behind this site is to save tress etc, so what better way than to reuse packaging rather then buying new.

    If I have ever had to buy new envelopes for whatever reason, I always buy “recycled”, thereby closing the loop.

    Reply
  2. Mrs Green says:
    May 18, 2009 at 7:32 am

    @maisie dalziel: I love the Green metropolis site, Maise; although I find that things hang around on there for quite a long time. Do you get that too? Or perhaps certain types of books sell quicker.
    You make a great point about closing the loop. I think I might write an article on the importance of that at some point.

    Reply

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