With digital commerce on the rise, it's become commonplace to get boxes of orders delivered. Whether it's groceries, household staples, meals, clothing, or other everyday items, nearly everything can arrive at our homes, neatly packed in cardboard boxes.

The recycling industry was in trouble before the coronavirus pandemic, as China had drastically reduced the amount of recycled products purchased from the US. With deliveries and packaging on the rise, the problem of using so much cardboard for deliveries is likely to be exacerbated.

Some meal delivery companies previously worked to address the issue by collecting packaging with each new delivery. Like reusable shopping bags, those practices have been cut due to health concerns.

This doesn't seem like a sustainable - or desirable - solution. Consumers would prefer not to deal with excessive packaging. Cities don't want to deal with the waster.

There are likely better ways to get products to homes that don't continually use new packaging. It's an area we are watching and we'd appreciate any tips of alternative solutions.