eBay announces reusable green box that conserves environmental resources

Sunday, October 31, 2010 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: eBay, packaging, health news

(NaturalNews) Online auction giant eBay has introduced a new "simple green shipping" box that the company claims will help reduce waste and preserve precious environmental resources. The eBay Box, which comes in three sizes, was unveiled at the recent eBay: On Location event in San Jose, Calif., and, according to company estimates, the pilot program could save nearly 4,000 trees, 2.4 million gallons of water, and conserve enough energy to power nearly 50 homes for a year.

The boxes are composed of 100 percent recycled materials and are FSC-certified. According to a San Francisco Chronicle report, they are printed with water-based dyes, and their design eliminates the need for excessive amounts of tape. They are highly durable and reusable, and even contain spaces for writing notes to future users. Users can also track box history in an online virtual community, as well as connect with other users.

eBay hopes the boxes will be reused at least five times, but depending on wear and tear, they could last even longer. The company has not indicated how it plans to roll out the program after the pilot ends, but has said it is currently evaluating user responses to see how well the boxes perform.

eBay has embraced several other green initiatives in recent months as well. Back in February, the company featured a new emissions-free energy generator called the "Bloom Box" that runs on biofuels and natural gas.

eBay also recently opened a new $300 million Tier IV data center in South Jordan, Utah, that the company says is its largest and most efficient data center yet. The center has a power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.4, which is phenomenal for a Tier IV data center.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/de...

http://www.ebaygreenteam.com/projects/the-eb...

http://www.smartplanet.com/people/blog/pure-...