Sustainability

Sustainable products

You know our packaging is free and convenient, did you also know it’s sustainable?

• Our USPS Priority Mail® and Priority Mail Express® paper packaging meets Sustainable Forestry Initiative or Forest Stewardship Council certification standards. This means the paper is sourced through a careful chain of custody that ensures the pulp comes from sustainably managed forests.
• Our partnership with How2Recycle® helps customers and employees understand how to properly recycle our products. It’s a labeling system with clear instructions on our packaging including USPS Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express packaging found in our Post Office™ locations and available on usps.com.
• Using recycled content materials helps extend the life of the earth’s precious natural resources thereby reducing impacts to the environment. Our USPS Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express packaging contains an average of 84% recycled content for all packaging types and 98% recycled content for paper and cardboard packaging.

Order your packaging for free here.

Go online

Almost everything you can do at the Post Office, you can do online at USPS.com. So, next time, skip the trip and save time and fuel.

• Print postage-paid shipping labels with Click-N-Ship.
• Schedule a FREE Package Pickup — we’re already on your street six days a week.
• Buy stamps and order supplies online — they’ll be delivered with your mail.
• Moving? Change your address right here.
• Going away? Use USPS.com to put your mail on hold.

Buy stamps

Our stamps are recyclable and our stamp adhesives are environmentally benign and recycling compatible. Buy yours online.

Ship green with USPS

When you order a product online, choose the Postal Service to deliver it. We’re already delivering to your house so it’s not an extra trip for us. Learn more about our shipping services.

Greener choices

Shop online lately? What did you do with that box after you opened it? There are steps you can take to help green the mail and packages you receive.

Recycle

The Environmental Protection Agency recognizes all mail as recyclable mixed paper waste, so don't forget to add yours to the recycle bin when you're done with it.

Many of our Post Offices have recycling containers for use by customers picking up mail at their PO Boxes. Our lobby recycling program offers you the option to "Read, Respond and Recycle" by using the containers to discard mail for recycling after you're finished with it. Just look for the blue containers with the slots on top.

Read your mail. Keep what you want and recycle the rest. It's the environmentally friendly thing to do.

Of course, the mail you take home can be recycled later after you're finished with it through your local recycling. Many shipping materials, like that cardboard box your shoes came in, also can be recycled. Learn about recycling in your community.

Reuse

Speaking of that box your shoes came in, isn’t it the perfect size for sending your niece’s birthday gift? You can also shred old direct mail and reuse it as packing material to hold that gift in place.

Not only can you recycle the mail you receive, but you can also share your magazines and catalogs with family and friends, or donate them to hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices for the waiting room, or to retirement communities, or to schools for use in art projects.

Reduce

When you move, make sure to update your address. This ensures you receive the mail you want and reduces waste. Change your address now.

Explore the ways you can “go green” in your daily lives.