I needed a little box to protect a little item I'm sending first class in a bubble mailer

 So I pulled a small FRB from the trash cut the end off and made a franken box.

I'm wondering if the post office is cool with this. As I understand it you can not reuse the whole box but you can use old padded mailers or pieces of cardboard as packing materials.

To be safe I took the end with the part of the label that shows postage was paid originally and this is just recycled materials. It seems silly that the PO would object to this but I do not want to have a buyer end up with postage due.
May I suggest you find some plain scraps of corrugated cardboard and fashion a small box?


That's what I have been doing but the small FRB has thin cardboard that is lightweight and easy to fold and it's already 90% done. Just trim fold and tape. Gift boxes cost money and cardstock boxes not nearly as sturdy as the thin corrogated of the SFR.

The small FRB folds so easily into a smaller box that I may start saving the used ones for that purpose. But not if I'm asking for trouble by doing it.

Since I don't believe in wrecking our planet by throwing away usable items and since I have never stolen or misused a USPS box, I re-use pieces from USED USPS boxes as much as I can, knowing that technically USPS isn't okay with it.

Since the REASON they're not okay with it is because they're trying to reduce theft and fraud by those who steal new boxes for a variety of unauthorized purpses, and since I'm not doing that, I'm giving myself a "pass" on behalf of the environment.

Sometimes you have to do what you think is right.