Pomona - Three years ago, Marty Metro ditched his suit and
hi-tech exec status to start UsedCardboardBoxes.com - the first
used cardboard box pick-up, delivery and retail chain in the
country. The company's newest location in Pomona is growing
quickly picking up once used boxes and reselling them for about
half the price of a new box.
With over two million people a year moving in Southern California, and thousands of businesses moving every month, UsedCardboardBoxes.com is encouraging those who recycle to be
even more outside the box, "Most cardboard boxes can be used at
least two to three times before they are recycled," says Marty, "And a high majority of boxes at recycling facilities are ultimately shipped to China to make other paper products."
Marty believes that keeping boxes in use in the US longer can
dramatically help reduce the country's reliance on forestry.
"To move a three to four bedroom house worth of stuff takes
about one ton of cardboard boxes, which can take up to 17
average-sized trees to make!" Marty's staff includes some
hardcore environmentalists.
Vital Stats:
- Globally, over 90% of all products are shipped in boxes.
- In the US 75% of these boxes are recycled, very few are reused.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 120,000,000 tons of cardboard is consumed in the US each year - roughly the same weight as 286,000 Boeing 747 jets.
- Nationwide, paper and cardboard account for 41% of all municipal solid waste.
- Approximately 223lbs of corrugated containers are produced per year, per person.
- One tree can filter up to 60lbs of air pollutants, each year.
- New paper products that also use recycled paper consist of only 30% post consumer materials.
- Southern California consumes over 700,000 tons of cardboard
boxes each month. This works out to about 1.42 million acres of
trees each year - a little less than the size of Delaware.
UsedCardboardBoxes.com has four locations in greater L.A. and expects to open other cities in the next three months, including Tampa, Dallas, Seattle, and Philly. Reusing cardboard boxes is the company's bread and butter, and each UsedCardboardBoxes.com location also rents RubbermaidR bins and U-HaulR trucks and trailers to do-it-yourself movers.
MartyMetro, Founder and President
1-888-BOXES-88
martymetro@UsedCardboardBoxes.com