Every time you ship something, whether it’s a box of cookies or a great big couch, it creates a ripple effect that is felt all around the world.We’re partnering with Shiply to offer you our best green shipping tips so when you do need to ship something, you can do it with the least impact possible.

Where do all the impacts come from?

√ Shipping requires fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil to actually transport your item. Any time you burn fossil fuels you get air pollution. In fact, there’s a dirty air impact all along the transportation route.

√ Burning coal, gas and oil also emits carbon dioxide, which floats up into the atmosphere and creates a big blanket of CO2 that is causing our planet to heat up in the threat known as climate change.

√ Shipping requires packaging, too. In addition to the shipping box itself, there’s the stuff you pack in the box to protect your item.

In many cases, the “stuffing” is foam “peanuts” that are actually made of polystyrene, a chemical compound that is toxic to manufacture and almost indestructible.

Unlike paper, which will disintegrate quickly in the elements, packing foam stays around forever and ever. It breaks into tiny little pieces that pollute our lakes and rivers, then gets eaten by the fish we later eat for dinner.

It creates ugly trash.

It just doesn’t go away.

Shiply is doing its part by helping truck and van drivers fill up their empty vehicles with deliveries along their existing routes, thus reducing the number of empty vehicles running on the road.

To date, Shiply estimates it has saved over 33 million unnecessary truck miles.

This equates to around 11.7m kg of CO2, the same as you flying from London to New York 19,311 times.

You can use a company like Shiply that makes sure every shipping trip is full. But you can also do this:

Best Green Shipping Tips

• Choose snail mail, not air mail – Shipping overland by truck or rail uses far less fuel and emits far less carbon dioxide than rush shipping that has to be done overnight by air. Get organized so that you don’t save your shipping deadlines to the last minute!

• Buy carbon offsets. To compensate for the carbon dioxide impact of the shipping method you choose, you can buy something called a carbon “offset.” The offset is a small amount of money, usually not more than a few dollars, you voluntarily contribute to a project that is helping to develop wind and solar projects – neither of which emits CO2. Many companies make it easy for you to buy carbon offsets when you ship with them.

• Combine packages into a single shipping box. If you have to ship several things to the same address, put them in the same box. You’ll minimize the total amount of packaging you’ll use and save money on shipping costs, too. NOTE: Keep this in mind for holiday shipping in particular.

• Use reusable and recyclable packaging. Choose boxes and mailing envelopes made from recycled cardboard and paper (hint: it will usually be brown; padded envelopes will be stuffed with pulverized paper and possibly fabric, not plastic). If you need filler to cushion the package, crumble up old newspapers or junk mail.

• Reuse and recycle packaging. Open shipping boxes and mailing envelopes carefully so you can use them again; usually, all you’ll need to do is put on a new mailing and shipping label. If you receive a package that’s filled with foam peanuts, take them to a nearby shipping center and ask if they can be recycled.
• Work with a company that economizes its routes and fills up empty trucks. The most eco companies will do what Shiply does and fill up trucks along their routes to save gas.

• Reduce how much you ship. As with anything that has to do with the environment, buying/using/consuming less is the number one way to reduce impact.

You can learn more about Shiply’s system here.

NOTE: Sponsors enable us to provide you with great ideas that will help you green your lifestyle at no additional cost to you. Our editorial opinion remains our own. Thanks.

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STOP.

The icky white, foam-like material used in both coffee cups and carry-out boxes is made from styrene, a chemical fingered by the National Institutes of Health because it could cause cancer. How?

Studies conducted in laboratories suggest that exposure to styrene damages white blood cells, increasing the risk of contracting leukemia or lymphoma. Additional research suggests that exposure to styrene may raise the likelihood of pancreatic cancer or cancer of the esophagus among workers who either manufacture styrene or products that contain styrene.

Styrene foam is bad news for the planet, too. It takes a good 500 years to degrade. And in the meantime, it breaks into smaller and smaller pieces made of toxic oil-based polymers that pollute soil and water and may be consumed by birds, fish and other animals. Because it is so light, styrene foam is easily blown about, creating unsightly litter. Plus, styrene foam that has been used for drinks or food is not recyclable. Some packaging shops may accept foam packing peanuts for re-use, but no one is going to take a used coffee-stained foam cup.

Here’s How You Can Avoid Styrene Foam

1) Use your own reusable water bottle or coffee mug. Pretty much every truck stop, fast-food joint, and roadside stand I’ve ever been at has been happy to put my tea or coffee in my own mug rather than in one of their foam cups.
Be prepared when you travel by air. Most airlines still serve hot beverages in foam cups. Make sure you pack your reusable mug in your carry-on bag and pull it out when you take your seat so you can easily hand it to the flight attendant when food service gets underway.

2) Skip vending machines that dispense hot coffee, tea, chocolate or soup in a foam cup. The same goes for vending machines and carry-out restaurants that serve hot soup in a foam cup.

3) If you’re throwing a party, use reusables, or even paper products, rather than foam. You can get heavy-duty paper cups for hot drinks and paper plates instead of foam. What I’ve done over the years is invest in reusable cups, plates, cutlery and napkins. I can now accommodate up to 40 people if necessary without having to buy a single foam or throwaway cup.

4) BYOC – If you want to take left-overs home from a restaurant, bring your own containers with tight-fitting lids. Alternatively, ask your server to wrap your leftovers in aluminum foil rather than foam.

5) Avoid instant food like ramen noodles and some soups that come in a foam bowl that you’re supposed to microwave to heat up. The last thing you want to do is eat food that could be contaminated by toxins that leak out of styrene when it’s microwaved.

6) Think ahead. The reason why we consume so much food out of foam containers is that we’re not in the habit of bringing our own safer alternatives. You have gotten used to taking your own shopping bags to the grocery store, right? Make it routine to bring your own cup, mug, or reusable doggie bag.

And just say NO to styrene.

WANT TO GET ONE NOW?

We’ve found a few reusable, stainless steel mugs that are lightweight but well-insulated to keep hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold. We’ve listed them in our Amazon store for your convenience.

One I particularly like is this stainless steel cup that even comes with its own stainless steel straw.

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Kids are going green, and not just at home. A cadre of student activists at Piney Branch elementary school in Takoma Park, MD, are agitating to replace the throw-away polystyrene lunch trays used in their public school cafeteria with reusable, washable ones. They’ve raised over $10,000 towards the purchase of a dishwasher to clean the trays. Officials who oversee the school in Montgomery County, MD have thus far refused to allow the kids to even test out a reusable trays program, saying it is too expensive. But the kids are fighting on.

Full disclosure: Both my kids attended Piney Branch, which is located near the Washington, D.C. border about three blocks from my house, and educates students in the third, fourth and fifth grades. But my son and daughter left long before more environmentally aware kids formed “The Young Activists Club” and launched their inspiring reusable tray campaign.

Why Reusable School Lunch Trays?

The kids are concerned because the polystyrene in the trays is a “known neurotoxin and suspected human carcinogen,” they say on their website.

“But there’s more,” they say. “It turns out polystyrene has a high carbon footprint as it’s made from fossil fuels. In addition, unlike other types of plastics such as beverage bottles (PET, #1) and milk jugs (HDPE, #2), its recycling level is virtually zero. It is not biodegradable, either. This means polystyrene that is littered will end up eventually in our watersheds and the world’s oceans where it can have devastating impacts on water life.

The kids plan to appeal the County’s decision and continue to agitate for reusable or more environmentally friendly lunch trays. Meanwhile, they’ve produced a YouTube video in which they perform the song they’ve written to explain their campaign. It’s called, “Goodnight, Styrene,” which they sing to the tune of “Goodnight, Irene.” Take a look.

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