Making moving day environmentally friendly one box at a time

Moving day in is just days away for Martin Hamery and his partner and they know with moving day comes the after-moving day mess.

Hamery and his partner are moving just a few blocks from their studio apartment in Montreal.

They have moved dozens of times between them and have packed hundreds of boxes. This time, they decided to not go the cardboard route and, instead, opted to go with plastic, reusable boxes.

Hamery says the plastic boxes are environmentally friendly but also convenient.

“Definitely the sustainability is something they take to heart as well as convenience. No one has time to spend days getting boxes and taping them.”

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Shai Schwartz, owner of GoBAC, a company that rents reusable moving equipment, capitalized on a trend that he saw back in 2010, and that’s when he first launched his company.

Schwartz owned a moving company for a decade before he noticed a need for waste-free moving containers.

He says his solution helps ease the stress of moving.

“We deliver to their house, they pack, they move and when they are finished we come and pick it up. They don’t have to handle boxes and recycling. It’s really clean — there is zero waste.”

Studies show that the average residential move would use 80 lbs of cardboard. According to waste-management sources, 40 per cent of landfills are filled with non-recycled cardboard.

Schwartz’s plastic boxes are catching on. His business has grown 20 per cent each year since he first opened.

Hamery says they make packing fragile glass with heavy text books stress free.

“They are so sturdy, we use our own clothing as wrapping. I do not need bubble wrap, I do not need paper wrap and there is no need for tape and scissors.”

Schwartz says they also stack on top of each other which is practical when placing them in the moving truck.