Simple Swaps for Greener Post Offices (no rubber bands)
One real issue these days with Royal Mail is using red rubber bands to keep letters and parcels together. It’s not the postie’s fault, but inevitably millions are dropped, and trap around hedgehog legs, or birds feed them to chicks, thinking they are worms.
One man found a red rubber band in his cat’s litter tray, and says (just like us), Royal Mail should be fined for littering. They also can wash down storm drains, and go into the sea.
A far better alternative is to swap the rubber bands for paper belly bands, which would be far less harmful to wildlife. If you see any, take them home and snip them up, then bin securely.
There is no point Royal Mail promoting sustainable packaging and recycling, if they continue to use red rubber bands on our streets.
Also read our separate post on plastic-free packing tape.
Reasons to Use Envelope Reuse Labels
Rather than buy new envelopes in plastic packaging, invest in a set of envelope reuse labels. These are simply slapped on existing envelopes, to reuse them. They are particularly good for business, as it looks more professional than just scribbling over old addresses.
You can buy envelope reuse labels that promote great causes, and use profits to help hedgehog rescue and humane research.
You can tear off old stamps (leave a small margin) and pop in an A5 envelope (with broken jewellery and old coins) and send off to raise cash for favourite charities. Order a free sack for large collections.
Using envelope stickers is good for the planet, but of course also saves you money.
If sending greetings cards, don’t send ‘plantable’ ones to homes with pets, as many grow into toxic wildflowers).
If you use internal mail (or send mail to the same people again and again), it’s worth investing in Australia’s Lopees. This one-time purchase sends organic cotton reusable envelopes (including book bags) that you can use forever.
Eco Packaging Ideas for Fragile Items
If you have to send delicate items through the post, you no longer have to wrap everything in plastic bubble wrap. It may be great fun to ‘pop’ it, but it’s terrible for the planet. You can now find companies offering biodegradable cornstarch peanuts that biodegrade instead.
Flexi-Hex (corrugated cardboard packaging)
The best solution is usually corrugated cardboard, which is made from layers of recycled paper, so fits snugly around fragile items to reduce movement, and force from impact.
Flexi-Hex uses a hexagonal design, made with 85% recycled cardboard and water adhesives. Sold both retail and wholesale, it fits bottles to spectacles, there are even versions to send surfboards! This company is DPD-approved.
Eco Mailers for Fragile Items
FSC-certified mailer bags are sold in packs of 1 to 50, the company also sells board back envelopes.
Kiriboard: Recycled Cardboard Plastic-Free Packaging
Kiriboard is an exciting alternative to plastic-free packaging, invented by three New York teenagers! Inspired by the Japanese art of folding paper, they created it, when a box of motors for their robotics hobby arrived damaged.
There’s something wonderful about three nerdy teenage boys inventing something to make their hobby work, which could save the planet! This invention has won the Earth Prize 2025 (there are lots more amazing inventions), and there is hope that the new packaging could be used by Amazon, Home Depot and the postal service, to replace the colossal amount of plastic being used for commercial purposes.
Kiriboard is cut into lattice-like shape (just like an apple pie topping) so it can bend to fill the space between an item, to absorb impact and protect just like bubble wrap but without plastic. Using recycled cardboard is biodegradable, whereas plastic is made from oil (so supports the fossil fuel industry and takes over 500 years to biodegrade, releasing microplastics into seas and rivers).
Where to Recycle Plastic Bubble Wrap
You can recycle bubble wrap (LDPE) at supermarket bag recycling bins. For a big office clear-out, order a Terracycle shipping materials box (costs £100 to £400 depending on size).
Towns and villages can split the cost, to get all plastic supplies out of town for good, never to return. Just order a box, fill up at a drop-off point and send back using the prepaid shipping label. Items are made into things like industrial piping and park benches.
You can use the box to recycle plastic mailers along with bubble/stretch wrap, packing foam, plastic tape dispensers, shipping peanuts and deflated air cushions. You can’t recycle padded envelopes, laminated paper or hazardous waste.
Bicycle Delivery (for posting parcels)
If you run a local business, considering using bicycle delivery services (rather than big van companies) to post local parcels. Examples are Three Bags Full (Bath) and Pedal & Post (Oxford) use bike delivery (the latter combines with trains for intercity).
It takes longer to post letters abroad, due to snow or mountains. In Chile, some letters take so long to get there due to the Andes, that people often just take the bus to deliver in person!
What was the Post Office Scandal About?
You’ve likely heard on the news (or watched the film) about the recent Post Office scandal, which has tarred the reputation of our national post office.
Thankfully the victims are hopefully to be financially compensated. But many have been left with mental health problems, and some have died since, so will not see justice.
The Post Office scandal stands as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in recent British history. It affected hundreds of sub-postmasters and postmistresses, costing them their jobs, reputations, and in some cases, their freedom.
In the late 1990s, a flawed accounting system led to users reporting shortfalls they could not explain. Rather than trusting staff, the Post Office relied on the system data, and believing a computer over people led to over 700 sub-postmasters and postmistresses (over 20 years) faced accusations of theft, fraud, and false accounting. Many were prosecuted, and some lost their jobs, homes and life savings.
Several went to prison, while others died before their names could be cleared. There were suicides linked to the shame and pressure brought by the accusations. Yet, for years, the Post Office refused to accept any fault, blaming individuals for what the IT system had caused.
In 2019, Mr Bates and others took action, and after a long legal battle, a High Court judgement found that the Horizon system was flawed and unreliable.
The case is now taught as an example of what happens when large companies ignore the real-world impact of their systems on people’s lives.
