Working World

The day I called Rent-A-Green-Box for this article, the customer service lines were so busy that they rolled over to the company president, Spencer Todd Brown, who picked up the call. In spite of an overall slump in moving due to the housing crisis, Spencer claims his business has experienced a 4,800 percent increase over the past year.

Rent-A-Green Box (originally called Earth Friendly Moving) is a revolutionary solution to the wasteful and expensive methods people have traditionally used to get their stuff from one location to another. Spencer says the phenomenal growth in his business is due as much to the money-saving do-it-yourself aspect as to their “green” platform. But the company is seriously committed to green practices.

Spencer, a product designer and self-professed tree hugger, had a revelation following a move from Ladera Ranch to Huntington Beach in 2005. He was shocked at what cardboard boxes, packing materials and other supplies had cost him, and at the difficulty in getting rid of them afterward. While visiting a dump, he saw that in the landfills there was an excess of plastic and discarded cardboard boxes. Then he thought: Why not recycle one product to replace the other and create a less wasteful, more environmentally friendly way for people to relocate?

For several months he studied the moving industry and current practices, and their impact on our landfills. In response to the widespread use of destructive materials and the waste generated by traditional methods of moving, he designed the reusable RecoPack™ (recycled ecological packing solution), a lightweight, stackable container made from recycled plastic. They are rented, not sold, to people moving their belongings, delivered to the customer’s old home by trucks run on vegetable oil, then picked up at the new home when they’ve served their purpose. The RecoPacks are then cleaned, sanitized and re-rented again and again, keeping tons of both plastics and cardboard out of landfills.

RecoPacks are delivered on Poopy Pallets made from recycled (and cleaned!) diapers; and instead of Styrofoam and Bubble Wrap, loose-fill RecoCubes made of cardboard sludge are available to cushion your belongings on their journey. Afterward, the biodegradable RecoCubes can be used as fertilizer. 

The plastics, diapers and other materials used to make the RecoPacks, Poopy Pallets and packing materials are sourced from salvage brokers and recycling facilities, then sorted, scrubbed, ground and remolded. The company claims each RecoPack saves 2.56 pounds of trash from the landfills and reduces significant amounts of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon emissions. Thirty-three RecoPacks will replace enough cardboard to save a tree.

Their methods are economical and convenient, since people don’t have to shop for boxes, assemble, tape, tear down or dispose of them. The do-it-yourself aspect is always attractive in tough times because it’s less expensive, but Rent-A-Green Box aims to make moving easier, cheaper and “earth responsible.” 

The company, based in Costa Mesa, now offers more than 100 other eco-friendly packing and moving products for sale or rent, from corn-based packing tape to grip gloves, door jam protectors and pet transporters. They have delivered more than 58,000 RecoPack orders since the company’s launch. They have also approved 100 licensing applications from potential partners who will own their own Rent-A-Green Box territory in a planned national expansion, and are preparing to open another 24 markets.   

Spencer grew up in Southern California and attended California State University at Long Beach and UC Santa Barbara, earning degrees in political science and Spanish literature. He speaks several languages, paints, skis, cooks and travels.

His motivation to make the planet a better place comes from his children. He wants them to inherit a “cleaner, more eco-balanced Earth” and recognized his own responsibility to make that happen. He believes that despite the damage that has already been done, “if we all pitch in,” we can reverse the trend and pass on a better world to future generations.   

Suzanne Ridgway is a freelance writer and regular columnist for Working World and Working Nurse magazines. She also writes grant proposals for nonprofit organizations.