Are plastic totes better for moving? - March 20th 2012

POST by Christine Rougeau

There are a number of companies that are renting plastic totes for moves. This system is being marketed as a green solution to using cardboard boxes. The idea is to reduce or eliminate the use of cardboard boxes and instead rent these plastic totes. After the person does their move, the empty totes are returned or picked up for another person to rent.

What makes this option possibly "green" is if the totes are made from a high percentage of post-consumer recycled plastic. Also, I suppose, if the plastic totes are rented there may be less guilt about owning a product that requires so much non-renewable resources to produce.

So, are plastic totes for moving greener than cardboard boxes? My answer is no. Cardboard boxes are made from renewable resources and can easily decompose back into the environment. Plastic totes are made from non-renewable resources and won't be decomposing in your garden any time soon.

Renting plastic totes for a move is also marketed as being equivalent cost-wise to buying new cardboard boxes. When I checked prices to confirm that claim, I discovered that you would pay 12-24% MORE by renting plastic totes than by buying the equivalent amount of cardboard boxes.

If you include the charge to have your plastic totes delivered and picked up that premium jumps to 30-70% (depending on the size of move). The premium, by the way, is worst for the smallest moves which are the ones that this system seems best suited for. Remember that you need to pack AND unpack all your things within a week or you will pay more for a longer rental period.

Now perhaps you feel fine about paying a huge premium because you are convinced by the "green" claims of this moving system. I understand that inclination. I will pay a premium for food produced by sustainable agricultural methods because I am convinced that the quality is better than that produced by the industrial food system.

So are you REALLY sure that plastic totes are in fact an eco-friendly solution to cardboard boxes? If you are then the large premium isn't a problem for you. If you haven't thought about this, would you be willing to pay a lot more to use plastic over cardboard because that is what you will be paying.

The cost of using plastic totes for moving might end up being double the cost of using cardboard because you probably already have some cardboard boxes and maybe even some plastic totes as well. Obviously it's most economical not to buy or rent what is already available to you. If at all possible reuse packing supplies you already have in your home. Here is how to avoid buying packing supplies in the first place.

Sometimes it is better to buy plastic totes especially if you move a lot, have to store in damp conditions or have a rodent problem. For more information about when it is better to use plastic totes over cardboard boxes please read Are plastic totes better?

If you want to save the environment, I think there are better ways to do so than by renting plastic totes. For example:

Live close to or where you work to avoid long commutes.
Grow at least some of your own food and buy most of your food from local producers that follow sustainable methods.
Learn how to use your kitchen and prepare most of your meals yourself.
Look through your garbage and assess how you could reduce your waste stream. Before you consider recycling, try to reduce your waste stream. Start composting to build soil in your back yard.

If you are interested in finding local food producers GO BOX Storage supports eatkamloops.org which has a list of over 150 local farms and ranches.