PHOENIX, Dec. 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- U-Haul invites you to give the environment a present this holiday season by making your moving, shipping or packing boxes and maybe even the box your presents came in available for reuse by others who need them. U-Haul, a leading retailer of moving and storage boxes and packing supplies in North America, wants to remind everyone about its two newest sustainability initiatives: the Take a Box/Leave a Box Program, and the U-Haul Box Exchange, both of which are geared toward helping customers save money while protecting the environment.
A Take a Box/Leave a Box display is available at U-Haul facilities throughout North America. The program enables customers to return their reusable boxes and allow other customers to take them as needed -- FREE. So after unwrapping presents this Christmas, instead of throwing your reusable boxes into the recycle bin, now you can drop them off at the nearest U-Haul location and allow another family to reuse the box, free of charge. After all, reuse always beats recycling.
"Whether it's computer boxes or boxes for big-screen TVs, the popular presents for Christmas are the same items that many of our customers will need to pack up for moving or storage. We know that U-Haul customers want to save money, but they are not just saving money, they are helping to save our environment by utilizing free boxes before purchasing new boxes," stated Bob Wesson, vice president of U-Haul Center Sales and Operations Support. "With every reuse of a box, you not only keep a new box from being manufactured, you also reduce the emissions and costs associated with the recycling process. U-Haul boxes are built strong to protect our customers' personal possessions while moving or in storage and they can be used again and again, affording our customers the opportunity to help the environment."
The Take a Box/Leave a Box Program goes hand in hand with the U-Haul Box Exchange Program that allows U-Haul customers to log on to www.uhaul.com/boxexchange to post their available boxes, for free or for a fee, or to review messages from individuals in their area who are offering reusable boxes.
U-Haul has long promoted another form of source reduction through its 100 percent Buyback Guarantee. Customers who take advantage of the Buyback Guarantee are preventing waste at the source and reducing demand for natural resources by returning unused boxes (or "extras") to U-Haul for a full refund.
U-Haul boxes are built strong to protect the do-it-yourself mover's valuable possessions while they are moving. They are so strong, in fact, that after the initial use a single box can be reused and can take the place of a number of new boxes before it is necessary to recycle it. Newer U-Haul boxes are imaged in green and encourage customers to give their reusable U-Haul boxes to friends, neighbors or relatives who are moving, to flatten and save them for use around their home or to take advantage of our customer-to-customer online box exchange or drop them off at the nearest U-Haul facility to donate to another customer in need.
For more information about the U-Haul Take a Box/Leave a Box and Box Exchange Programs, log on to uhaul.com.
U-Haul Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility has from day one been a part of the U-Haul System's core values and how we operate. Our commitment has been and is to conduct business in a socially responsible and ethical manner to protect the environment and benefit the communities where we live and serve. At U-Haul, we define corporate social responsibility as "sustainability" -- to be good stewards -- to accomplish our promise to meet the needs of our customers today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. U-Haul continuously looks for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, and to implement effective programs and policies to conserve energy and resources, and to protect the environment.