Most packing materials can be recycled or reused, but almost none of them go in the same bin. Cardboard boxes, plastic film, foam blocks, and packing peanuts each follow a different path. Tossing them all into your curbside recycling bin actually causes problems, jamming sorting equipment and contaminating otherwise recyclable loads. Here’s how to handle each type correctly.
Cardboard Boxes
Cardboard is the easiest packing material to recycle. It goes straight into your curbside recycling bin in nearly every municipality. You don’t need to remove tape, shipping labels, or staples first. The recycling process breaks cardboard down into paper fibers, and any leftover tape or labels get filtered out automatically. The American Forest & Paper Association confirms this is a non-issue.
What you do need to do: empty the box completely. Remove any Styrofoam inserts, plastic air pillows, or other packing materials inside. Then flatten the box so it doesn’t take up the entire bin and slow down collection. If a box is heavily soaked with water or stained with grease or food, that portion should go in the trash, as wet or contaminated cardboard can ruin an entire batch of recyclable paper.
Plastic Film, Bubble Wrap, and Air Pillows
Flexible plastic packing materials, including bubble wrap, plastic air pillows, plastic mailers, and shrink wrap, cannot go in your curbside recycling bin. They get tangled in the machinery that sorts other recyclables like cans, bottles, and paper, which is why recycling facilities specifically ask you to keep them out.
Instead, these materials go to store drop-off bins. Many grocery stores and large retailers have collection bins near the entrance that accept flexible polyethylene plastics, which includes most shipping films and bubble wrap. Programs like NexTrex partner with retailers to collect these materials and turn them into composite lumber products. Accepted items typically include shipping bags, bubble wrap, grocery bags, bread bags, zip-lock bags, dry cleaning bags, and plastic produce bags.
Before dropping off, make sure the plastic is clean and dry. Remove any paper labels or non-plastic attachments you can easily peel off. Then stuff everything into one bag so it doesn’t blow around the collection area. Look for the How2Recycle “Store Drop-off” label on packaging to confirm a specific item qualifies. If you’re unsure whether a nearby store participates, searching your zip code on the How2Recycle or NexTrex websites will show the closest drop-off location.
Packing Peanuts
Packing peanuts come in two varieties that look similar but require completely different disposal. The quick way to tell them apart: hold one under running water. Starch-based peanuts dissolve because the plant-based material absorbs water readily. Polystyrene (Styrofoam) peanuts are water-resistant and won’t break down at all.
Starch-based peanuts are biodegradable. You can dissolve them in water and pour the slurry down the drain, toss them in a home compost bin, or simply put them in the trash knowing they’ll break down in a landfill far faster than conventional plastic. They often have a slightly rough, starchy texture and may be off-white or green.
Polystyrene peanuts are not biodegradable and are not accepted in curbside recycling. Your best option is reuse. Some local shipping stores, pack-and-ship businesses, or community reuse groups will take clean packing peanuts. Call ahead before showing up with a bag, as acceptance varies by location. If no reuse option exists nearby, polystyrene peanuts go in the trash.
Rigid Foam (Styrofoam Blocks and Inserts)
The large white foam blocks that cushion electronics, appliances, and furniture are expanded polystyrene (EPS). Curbside programs almost universally reject them because the material is roughly 95% air by volume, making it extremely expensive to transport relative to its recyclable value. The fuel cost to ship bulky, lightweight foam to a processing facility often exceeds what the recycled material is worth.
Specialized drop-off programs do exist. The Food Service Packaging Institute maintains a searchable map at recyclefoam.org showing EPS drop-off sites across the U.S. Dart Container, a major EPS manufacturer, also operates public drop-off locations you can find through their website. These programs accept clean, uncontaminated foam packaging.
For businesses or organizations generating large volumes of foam waste, paid mail-in programs like Terracycle’s Styrofoam Zero Waste Box accept all types of EPS shipping waste, as long as there’s no food contamination on the foam. If none of these options are accessible, rigid foam goes in the regular trash.
Padded Mailers
Padded mailers are one of the trickiest packing materials because they often combine two materials bonded together. A paper envelope lined with bubble wrap cannot be recycled through any standard program. The paper and plastic are fused in a way that makes separation impractical, so mixed-material padded mailers go in the garbage.
All-plastic padded mailers (the kind made entirely of polyethylene film with a bubble-wrap interior) can sometimes go to store drop-off bins along with other plastic films, but only if there are no paper labels or non-plastic components attached. If you can peel off the shipping label cleanly and the entire mailer is soft, flexible plastic, it qualifies. If there’s any paper fused to it that you can’t remove, trash it.
When ordering products online, choosing retailers that use single-material packaging (all paper or all plastic) makes recycling significantly easier down the line.
Paper Packing Materials
Crinkled kraft paper, paper void fill, and corrugated paper wraps are all recyclable in your curbside bin alongside cardboard and mixed paper. Just make sure the paper is clean and dry. Remove any plastic tape if you can, though small amounts stuck to the paper won’t cause problems.
Molded pulp inserts, the kind that cradle electronics or bottles in a fitted tray, are also curbside recyclable. They’re made from the same material as egg cartons and break down easily in the paper recycling stream.
Reuse Before Recycling
The most effective way to handle packing materials is to use them again. Cardboard boxes in good condition, clean bubble wrap, air pillows that still hold air, and intact foam inserts all work just as well the second or third time around. If you ship items regularly, keep a stash. If you don’t, local community groups, online marketplace sellers, and small businesses that ship frequently often welcome free packing supplies. Posting on a local Buy Nothing group or neighborhood forum is usually the fastest way to find someone who wants them.
Reuse avoids the energy costs of recycling entirely and keeps materials out of both the waste stream and the recycling stream, where they can cause contamination if sorted incorrectly.