I’ve heard of rescue dogs, but rescue boxes? Apparently yes. Consider the cardboard box. Perhaps the greatest thing since sliced bread—although, to be honest, I’ve always found sliced bread to be rather overrated. But while the cardboard box is perhaps one of the most useful things ever made, like many useful things ever made, figuring out what to do with it once it has exceeded its usefulness can pose quite the quandary. Via GreenBiz, meet UsedCardboardBoxes.com:

We rescue (buy) truckloads of quality used boxes from large companies that might otherwise recycle them or simply throw them away. We bring the boxes back to one of our regional distribution centers where they are inspected and sorted by size and shape. Boxes that meet our strict requirements for quality, shape and strength are pre-packed (along with convenient accessories) into our low-cost, earth-friendly stacks and kits. We then resell those boxes to customers all across the USA, via our website. We offer free shipping on any residential order and guarantee delivery in 1-2 business days.

Basically, they’re an eHarmony for packagers: companies need boxes, and UsedCardboardBoxes.com can hook them up with used boxes that match their requirements. It’s kind of a win all around: used boxes get diverted from landfills, or even recyclers, since they’re being recycled, but in a different way, and packagers can save as much as 10–15% on their packaging costs.

it isn't surprising that UsedCardboardboxes.com got the attention of UPS and several others as well including Wal-Mart. If UsedCardboardboxes.com can help them reduce their costs 15-20 percent, they are all ears. They also provide landfill diversion rates and recycling diversion rates for these companies ... information companies can use in their sustainability reporting and information that is also invaluable to municipalities.

GreenBiz also has a podcast interview with UsedCardboardBoxes.com CEO Marty Metro.