Goodwill Has A Use For That Pile Of Amazon Boxes In Your Garage

Image courtesy of Alan Rappa

If you’ve been shopping online a lot this holiday season or just in general, you probably have a lot of cardboard boxes in your house that you don’t need. You could break them down and recycle them, or you could fill them with crap around the house that you don’t need and make someone else recycle them.

Give Back Box has been around for a few years, but a recent holiday-related burst of publicity about Amazon’s participation in the program brought it to our attention.

The idea is simple: you take a cardboard box and fill it with clothing, household items, and anything that you’d normally donate to your favorite thrift store other than electronics. You print out a USPS mailing label from the site, and you can arrange for your mail carrier to pick the box up during your regular delivery.

Your box will be routed to the nearest Goodwill store that’s participating in the program, and if you’re willing to register for a Give Back Box account, you can get a tax receipt for your donation as well.

Official “partners” include companies like Amazon, Overstock, Newegg, and Uncommon Goods, but the fine print says that any box that’s suitable for mailing can be used.

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