Really, the issue I’m dealing with is that trash is no longer the shape of the trash can. This might accommodate your average flattened shoebox, but probably not a standard Amazon box. These cans are stunning, but unfortunately the widest has an aperture of only 20.7 inches. The only one that replied was SimpleHuman, with the suggestion that I consider a large commercial can. I emailed all the major trash can suppliers, asking if any had plans to sell a product that dealt with the influx of cardboard at home. My problem could be solved by a compactor or a dumpster, but these things are expensive and take up too much space. The same goes for listing boxes on Craigslist, or giving them away to a neighbor on NextDoor. This is cool, but it’s probably excessive for someone with three to ten boxes each week. If you unpack your house and you have a ton of boxes, you can sign up for U-Haul’s Box Exchange program, which pairs you with someone else who needs boxes. The online advice about cardboard disposal all seems to cater to people who just moved. Really, the issue I’m dealing with is that trash is no longer the shape of the trash can “The twine doesn’t solve that part of the problem.”
“But where do you put them when you bring them to the trash room?” My one friend Sally ties her boxes with twine, because that’s what her landlord told her to do. I asked a few friends how they manage this trash, and most said, much like me, they just deal. Sometimes I hear him yelling out the window as he tries to arrange our incorrigible trash.įor a while I wondered if maybe I was dumb and had somehow neglected a basic life skill that would help make box disposal run more smoothly. With 20+ tenants, this isn’t enough space. The flattened boxes do not fit inside these cans, so my super has requested that we use the bookend method to wedge our box trash up against the wall. I find the whole process so needlessly involved, but even if it weren’t, that wouldn’t solve my problem: The trash room in my building is an outdoor alley, with five large trash cans, each measuring 22-inches in diameter. Flattened boxes are cumbersome, and carrying more than one demands two hands. I’ve tried to start taking the boxes out more often, but this isn’t really a tenable solution. As someone who tries to keep a clean house, the boxes are a literal stumbling block. (Still true in our remaining brick-and-mortar stores.)īut now, much of this refuse ends up in our homes, creating a personal waste management problem for those of us without garages or even closets. Cardboard disposal was a commercial endeavor, zoned to retail and industrial spaces with specialized dumpsters and cardboard compactors. Sure, it would be great if we reduced our use of boxes, but I just want to know where I should put them in the meantime.īack in the time before online shopping, products were sent in boxes to stores and taken back home in their nude, box-less state. My issue is not really with cardboard consumption - which has actually decreased slightly since the dawn of e-commerce. Blue Apron sends 8 million cardboard boxes every month. In 2017, Amazon alone shipped more than 5 billion items to homes worldwide, largely in paper envelopes and cardboard boxes. I’m not the only one with too much cardboard. Sure, it would be great if we reduced our use of boxes, but I just want to know where I should put them in the meantime