Earth Day is just around the corner, and we all share the responsibility of protecting the environment so we can pass down a habitable home for the generations to come. As scrapbookers, it’s no secret that we go through a lot of materials. Whether it’s paper scraps, used-up sticker sheets or even the back of Foam Squares, an afternoon of scrapbooking can have our craft tables looking like the start of a landfill (but a very beautiful one!). This is why it’s important that we all make a conscious effort to reduce our carbon footprint. Read on to learn which CM products are recyclable so you can practice eco-friendly scrapbooking!
Recyclable Scrapbook Supplies
Paper Products
Did you know that all of CM’s paper products are recyclable? It’s true! Everything from our designer paper packs and cardstock to our mat packs and refill pages are 100% safe to throw in a recycling bin!
Tape Runners
Tape Runners are made of plastic, therefore recyclable. However, the liner of the Tape Runner (the clear strip that is leftover once you use up all the adhesive) is not. So, in order to properly recycle your Tape Runner, you should remove the clear liner from the Tape Runner Refill. This is the best way to make sure that the Tape Runner that you are disposing of is in fact 100% safe to recycle.
Air Pillows
As you know, CM packs our boxes with air pillow packaging to make sure that your product stays protected and remains in pristine condition all the way from our warehouse to your home. However, once you have opened your container, the air pillows have finished their job — that is, unless you’re creative and eco-friendly!
These air pillows are recyclable so you can dispose of them that way if you want. But, many have found that if you slit one end of the pillow open, they work great as mini garbage bags (which we all know scrapbookers could always use more of). They can also be repurposed into shopping bags, protection wrapping for ornaments/seasonal items or you can even use them to ship your own items!
Boxes
You can also recycle any of our shipping containers, from the cardboard box your products arrive in to any cardboard box that you get from a specific product such as a trimmer, Tape Runner, border maker cartridge or a punch. But you can also find some other uses for them! Some people head to their local resident Facebook page and find that there are always people looking for boxes for moving, selling items online or just packing stuff away. You could also donate these boxes to a local troop support group so they can use them to send care packages overseas. Find more ideas for how to put your shipping containers to use by reading this article!
Donate Scrapbook Supplies
Want to be environmentally conscious and charitable at the same time? Why not donate your unused scrapbook supplies? If you have old or unused papers, punches and tools, there are plenty of places that would be thrilled to take them. Any of the following places would likely be willing to take any supplies or materials off your hands:
- Schools
- Foster Home Organizations
- Community Centers
- Battered Women Shelters
- After-School Programs
- Children’s Hospital
Donating scrapbook supplies ensures that someone is getting use out of something that you no longer need. Why not bring a smile to someone’s face while you help to save the planet?
So in conclusion, there are so many different ways that we can all practice green scrapbooking – for Earth Day and every day! No matter how you do it, any effort that you make to be more environmentally conscious is helpful in the long run. Remember — we’re all in this together. What other ideas do you have to reduce, reuse and recycle your scrapbooking supplies? Let us know in the comments below!
The UPS Store will also take the packing pillows to reuse as they send out packages.
My local store will not :(
Our local library just held a “craft swap”. Got rid of some supplies I no longer needed and picked up a few new ones to bring home. All for free!
I found this information very helpful……especially about how to make the tape runner recyclable. Thanks!
I use the bubble wrap for my Christmas ornaments while storing them. I use scraps for journal cards in my scrapbooks. Also I cut up other paper in strips.
Thank you for the timely blog post on a topic near and dear to my heart, I live in a very rural county; we have an award winning, extensive recycling program but alas, the tape runner plastic is not one of the thousands of items they can accept (maybe down the road). My crop customers think I am a bit over the top when I clean up all their scraps of paper at the end of the day to take home and recycle but they tolerate me :- ) I even collect their chip board from paper packs and pages to donate to art classes
I too save my chip boards from the paper packs, pages, album covers and page protectors to give to my sister for the art students at her school. I have donated many of my tools as well as I update to new ones. They totally appreciate them; many of the teachers find ways to use things in their everyday classrooms; its not just the art teachers!
Excellent article. Good information.
The 3 R’s: Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose. I’m a teacher and I teach my children how important it is to recycle. They really get into it. I live in a community where we don’t have trash pickup and local ranchers dig their’s own landfills! I can’t imagine poisoning my own land with trash. It’s crazy!
I also remove the rubber roller from my tape runner refills before recycling because I’m not sure whether they’re recyclable. They snap right out so I just toss them and the empty spool into the trash and the remaining pieces into the recycling bin.
I found that we had scrapbookers are always needing different shapes. When I have scraps of paper I use my punches large and small. I put them in old medicine bottles, babyfood containers both plastic and glass. Then when I need a shape for a project I pull out that container, find the color I want and I don’t waste a new sheet of paper for just a few shapes.
I have been using the packing pillows to pick up after my dog for years. They are just right. If you don’t have a dog I’m sure a rescue irascibility would use them.
Ditto on Reta’s comment. I slice the long strip of “pillows” down one edge, leaving them connected together, then roll up the strip. They are now fairly compact and can easily be carried along to use for poo pile cleanup. Much cheaper than buying the little bags! And it keeps the roadsides, lawns, parks, etc. cleaner too. A win-win all round!
It is great to see this post generate so many comments. I shred scraps of paper and they go into the worm farm or on the garden. Cardboard from the boxes is spread around the garden as a weed suppressant, and topped with mulch. The plastic packaging can be recycled in Australia at the Redcycle bins at major supermarkets. I hadn’t thought to cut them up to use as mini rubbish containers. I’ve reduced so much rubbish in my household that a little bag like that is enough for me most weeks. I’ve written quite a bit about reducing waste on my blog.
I love that it is on CMs mind with their products. I think a disclaimer should be added however that just because an item has a symbol for being recyclable does not mean that it is accepted in your local recycling program. Most are not, best to check first and be aware than to contaminate your recycling source.
I did not know UPS will take the packing pillows so the little ones I poke a hole and let the air out and deposit into the plastic wrap etc containers at the supermarket.