A medium-sized move generates an amount of waste that is surprising: dozens of single-use boxes, rolls of film, bubble plastic, old furniture that ends up in the dumpster, and several extra van trips due to poor planning. Almost all of that can be reduced without spending more—often spending less. This guide brings together what actually works, with a Canarian twist: here the waste doesn't go anywhere, it stays on the island.
Where the impact of a move goes
Before optimizing, it's worth knowing what weighs. In a move, the impact concentrates in four places:
- Transport: kilometers traveled and, above all, poorly utilized trips. A half-full truck making three trips pollutes much more than one well-loaded making one.
- Packaging: single-use cardboard, stretch film, bubble wrap and tape.
- What gets thrown out: furniture, mattresses and appliances that are abandoned because "it's not worth taking them".
- What gets bought new upon arrival, often to replace something that could have been moved.
1. Less volume: the most effective measure
Everything that doesn't travel doesn't consume packaging, truck space, or fuel. A thorough sort before packing easily reduces between 10 % and 20 % of volume, and that shows in both your footprint and your bill, because the moving price is calculated by cubic meters.
The practical rule: if you haven't used it in more than a year and it has no sentimental or replacement value, it shouldn't go on the truck. Here's how to get rid of what comes out, in this order:
- Sell what has a market (furniture in good condition, electronics, bicycles).
- Donate clothing, kitchenware, toys and books to social organizations in your municipality.
- Give away in neighborhood groups: they work very well on the islands for bulky furniture.
- Recycle what no longer works at the recycling point, never next to a street container.
2. Reusable packaging instead of single-use
This is the most visible difference between a professional move and an improvised one:
- Moving blankets instead of plastic. Large furniture doesn't need to be wrapped in film: it's protected with padded blankets that are used hundreds of times. Film is reserved for essentials only.
- Quality cardboard boxes, and reused. A double-wall box can withstand several moves if taken apart carefully. Keep yours or pass them to whoever moves next.
- Textile covers for mattresses and sofas instead of single-use plastic.
- Wardrobe boxes with hanging rod for hanging clothes: they avoid plastic bags and save ironing at your destination.
- Fill with what you already have: towels, sheets and clothing protect dishes just as well as bubble wrap, and don't take up a separate trip.
If you need materials, in our packing store you have boxes, film and tape; buy just what you need and no more: leftovers usually end up in the trash.
3. Consolidate your load: groupage is the lowest-impact option
In the Canary Islands this point is more important than anywhere else, because almost everything crosses the sea. A groupage shipment—your belongings share a container with others—makes use of space that was going to travel anyway. An exclusive half-empty container is the opposite. Unless you need a very tight date or the volume justifies it, groupage is both the cheapest and lowest-impact per m³. We compare it in detail in the guide to shared or exclusive containers.
The same applies on a small scale: two well-loaded trips are always better than four half-loaded ones. And if you're thinking about moving things yourself in your car, do the math first: the guide on why not to do the move in your car has the numbers and the risks.
4. What to do with what doesn't get moved (in the Canary Islands)
Getting rid of old furniture by leaving it next to the dumpster is the worst option: it blocks collection and ends up in the landfill. Real alternatives:
- Municipal bulky item collection: most Canary Islands municipalities have a free service with advance appointment for furniture and mattresses. Request it in advance, because collection days are fixed.
- Recycling points for appliances, electronics, paints, oils and small rubble.
- Electrical appliances: if you buy a new one, the store is required to take the old one. Take advantage of it.
- Second-hand companies and social organizations: many pick up furniture in good condition from your home.
- Cardboard and film when done: disassemble the boxes and take them to the blue bin; film and bubble wrap go in the yellow one.
5. Plan to avoid repeated trips
A large part of a move's energy expenditure is pure lack of planning: back and forth because you don't have the keys, because you haven't measured the sofa space, or because you discover on moving day that the elevator doesn't fit the wardrobe. Three habits avoid almost all of it:
- Measure first: doors, elevator and stairwell space. We explain it in the guide on door width.
- Label by room with a clear system: unload once and in the right place. You have the method in how to label boxes.
- Make an inventory: you know what you have and don't buy duplicates when you arrive. Here you have how to make the inventory.
6. Storage instead of buying new
When dates don't align, many people get rid of furniture that they later buy again. It costs more and generates twice as much waste. A temporary storage for a few weeks almost always costs less than replacing half a living room.
Sustainable moving checklist
- Sort through what you don't use a month before, not the night before.
- Sell, donate or give away; the landfill is the last resort.
- Get reused boxes and return them to circulation when done.
- Protect with blankets and your own textiles; reserve plastic for essentials.
- Choose groupage if you don't need an exclusive date.
- Concentrate the load in as few trips as possible.
- Request a bulky item pickup appointment before moving.
- Separate cardboard and plastic when unpacking the boxes.
What we do
At Horizont Atlantic we work with reusable blankets and covers for furniture, we prioritize consolidated groupage in maritime shipments—which is what allows a container to travel full and not half-full—, we measure real volume to avoid moving air, and we remove excess packaging after assembly to recycle it instead of leaving it with you. If you want your move organized with this criterion, tell us when requesting a quote: it can be planned this way from the start, both in a move between islands and in a move to mainland Spain.
