If you are considering moving to the United Kingdom then it is very likely that you have more on your mind than just being environmentally friendly. However, with the amount of travel involved in getting to a new country, it is very likely that your carbon foot print is pretty large and this can be a massive cause of pollution and very destructive to the earth. Making sure that you are as green as possible once you arrive in the country that you are heading for is a good way to start immediately repaying the debt that you may well now owe to the atmosphere, and amongst others, one of the best ways to do so is to recycle the cardboard boxes when moving to the UK.

Recycling is important for many reasons. The main one is that the earth is not an infinite resource. While at some points in human evolution, there may have been a time when the rate of human growth and expansion matched the rate of regeneration present on the earth, that time has long gone, and the amount of humans on the planet exceeds the rate at which the earth can produce it’s natural resources. Basically, in simple terms, there are not enough trees in the world to cater for our consumption of paper, and there are not enough oil wells on the planet to cater for our use of fuel, at least not for many more years, unless something changes. The consumption of card and paper from trees is almost as worrying as the use of fuel in our current climate, as of course the trees that such materials come from provide photosynthesis which turns poisonous carbon dioxide in to oxygen, for humans to breath. Building up of carbon dioxide is harmful the atmosphere as well as being potentially fatal the Earth’s population of people and animals. The effects that deforestation has on animals does not end there however, many species of animal and plant live within the dense jungles and forests that are cut down more and more every day in order to cater for human consumption. It is believed that an area the size of a few football pitches is cut down every day, wiping out entire species of wildlife that have never even been discovered by humans.

So you can see that your small contribution is still very important. You may think that the little that you can do will not help at all, but if we all get together and do one small bit at a time, then change can take place, and we can at least earn ourselves a few more years on the planet we call home.

Start by seeing if anyone in your new area can use the boxes directly. Say hello to your neighbors, and mention that you have packing materials left over if they know of anyone who wants them. Boxes for moving can be surprisingly expensive if you are not prepared, so some may want to take them for the future, or know someone who will need them. Should there be no takers in your immediate vicinity, then try putting them up as freebies, or for a small amount online, on different sites. This way you are spreading the net wider and will likely have someone willing to come round and collect so less work on your part!

If this does not work then the last resort should be taking the boxes to a recycling plant and having them adequately recycled.