We are shopping more and more online. The pandemic exacerbated that practice. I order my home products from Grove.co because I get only recycled plastic if any at all, and they have a wide array of earth-friendly products to choose from. I order my pet care products, and lots of other things online as well. That means the cardboard is coming in by the droves. What to do next?
DON’T THROW IT AWAY!!!
If you don’t have a friend with an impending move, and you don’t ship things out yourself, use these piles of compressed softwood pulp in your beds!
I’ve talked about this in previous posts when I was building my first layered garden in the Camden Longhouse Gardens, and you can read about that here: Sheet Mulching for Spring
Cardboard works wonders for future projects. I’ve taken a bunch of mine to the beds in front of the house. This practice kills all the undergrowth I’ve neglected to mind. I’ll tear it up when it’s wet and soft – the easiest time to do so – to better fit the space, and then I’ll cover this with mulch just to make it look a little neater. There’s no weed pulling, no digging, no hoeing; the cardboard takes care of all that, and the decomposing cardboard and plant matter add nutrition to the soil. What’s not to love?
And if you don’t have a garden plan to tend to at the moment, pick an inconspicuous spot. Flatten and pile the boxes up and leave them be. Check back months later, and you’ll find rich, black, earthworm-filled dirt on the bottom of the pile.
If none of this is doable or interests you, recycle! Let’s keep this stuff out of our landfills! We don’t know what the future holds, but many American corporations are peeing in the pool, so to speak, with no intention of stopping. If the laws that require it weaken, and I fear they will, we can act together and make a difference. We can’t make corporations stop, but we can commit as individuals to NOT be part of the problem. This is our country. I intend to hang on to it with everything I’ve got.