What do you do with all these boxes?

[Charlie B53]

On PD almost a year now and doing 4 manuals a day.

The number of carboard boxes adds up to quite a pile flattened and stacked in the corner of my garage.

After giving 50 or 60 to friends that had to move, I still have way over one humdred stacked up taller than I am.

These are serious heavy duty boxes, I can bear the thought of tossing them into the trash and ending up in a landfill.

This was a LOT of trees.

Multiplied by the number of people on home dialysis, that's a tremendous amount of resource.

And all the plastic, if it could be melted down and recycled it could add up to a LOT of oil.

I don't know if this plastic is petro or organic based oil, but either way this is a tremendous amount of resources being trashed.

I once thought the local newspaper should pick up yesterdays paper as they deliver todays.  Think of how much paper they could save annually by recycling most of their own paper.

If the Baxter truck picked up the flattened boxes, and maybe the drained bags stuffed into large trash bags.  How much money could Baxter save recycling their own product waste?

How do we get this started?

[JLM]

I donate my empty boxes to the local mission.  My cleaning lady takes them there every two weeks when she comes here.  I have the room to stack them 14 high.  Sometimes I am starting on a third stack if something happens and she missed a week.  I keep the end flaps down and raise the side flaps and then just nestle on top of each other.  I get 3 enpty boxes every 2 days.

[Uptownlifer]

I've been on PD since last December and yes, those boxes are very heavy duty cardboard. I love in Southern California and our city trash pickup has recycling, but also there are people here who drive around collecting cardboard to take to the recycling center themselves and make a few bucks. I met one guy who does this and told him to come by and get my boxes every week. I add a box to my stack a day, and I also have pondered all the other PD patients and their boxes, and all the plastic that goes into the cassettes for the cycler machine, after imagining just a few hundred thousand patients my brain can't even imagine anymore where all this stuff comes from.

[Joe]

I always put mine out with the recycling. It does get to be quite an impressive stack! I was also the box supplier for a number if people that moved. The boxes are perfect for about 90% of everything! and you can't pack them too full. They also stack perfectly, which is a bonus.

[Whamo]

I have a neighbor that tears apart old cars for parts, LIncolns, and he uses the boxes to store or ship them.

[JW77]

Mine go out with the recycling.  But there's always Freecycle, that way they get used again before disposal/recyceling

[kporter85db]

If the Baxter truck picked up the flattened boxes, and maybe the drained bags stuffed into large trash bags.  How much money could Baxter save recycling their own product waste?

How do we get this started?

While a worthwhile endeavor, recycling doesn't usually save money. But it does save resources and should be done.

We recycle our boxes through our trash pickup company. You can't recycle biological medical waste, so the plastic is not recyclable.

[Darthvadar]

Is there a food bank near you???...

Those super-sturdy boxes would be perfect for packing food into....

Darth...

[Simon Dog]

You can't recycle biological medical waste, so the plastic is not recyclable.

Some DaVita centers had a pilot program for recycling dialyzers, though this was obviously a specialized procedure.

[Charlie B53]

Is there a food bank near you???...

Those super-sturdy boxes would be perfect for packing food into....

Darth...

That's a good idea.

There is a Church nearby that has a monthly food-bank program.

I have to stop by as I don't know the name of the Church.

Thanks!

[Darthvadar]

Is there a food bank near you???...

Those super-sturdy boxes would be perfect for packing food into....

Darth...

That's a good idea.

There is a Church nearby that has a monthly food-bank program.

I have to stop by as I don't know the name of the Church.

Thanks!

You're welcome!...

I'm sure the boxes will get a good home at the food bank!...

Darth....