Today I was getting ready to send off a book and decided to carefully peel away the many labels on the padded envelope. He're what I found out:

It originated in Alabama, then to Nebraska, to Florida, to California, to Nebraska, and now I will send it on to Alaska.

Here's what's funny. I am the second Nebraska. The first Nebraska is a friend of mine and lives a couple of miles away across a cattle pasture from me.

It would be fun if members would write the name of their state on a back corner of their envelope and each time it was recycled, that person would put down his or her state underneath, and so on.  Great recycling!

Ugh, I hate recycled envelopes.  People don't know when to throw them away!  Most of the time when I get a recycled envelope it's beat to heck and torn and I'm lucky if my book's still inside of it.

I recycle envelopes whenever possible-

but I tear off all the previous labels so that there is no confusion and it ends up where I want it to go

(I would hate for my label to get  torn off and the book to go to the wrong address)

it is interesting to peel off the prior labels and see where it has traveled.

I  recycled envelopes.  Once I got one back that had orginated with me!  I don't always peel the labels off but it's fun when I do!

I like getting them too! I always recycle the envelope unless it's on it's last leg and just about died when it got here.

My local PO has a tendency to beat the heck out of envelopes, but I love recycling them when I can!  And then when they're on their last leg they get stuck in the recycling trash can anyway.  So either way it's a recycling win. 

I too, and a label peeler.  I'm always worried it will get sent to the wrong address if something happens to my label.

I don't always peel the labels off... last time I tried it, I tore a great envelope... but I usually at least try to.

I   recycling padded envelopes!

I   recycling padded envelopes!

 I even use really beat up ones. As long as there is enough envelope left you can't see what's in it, I'll "waterproof" it with stapping tape. I figure you can still get a lot more uses out of it that way.

I do it all the time.  Those bubble envelopes are usually pretty stable.

I throw em all away.

-RD

I love to recycle.  I find it fun to see the many imaginative ways people come up with to reuse stuff to ship books in.

I recycle as many as I can.  I work in an office that receives alot of mail and I am always on the look out for envelopes there too.

"Once I got one back that had orginated with me!"

That's just amazing, Cosette!  What are the odds!?!

I had an envelope today that shouldn't have been recycled.  It had already been open on two sides and the sender slid a piece of paper between the ripped envelope pieces to put it back to whole again.  The newly created envelope pieces did not hold up well and one of the previously unripped sides ripped in transit.  The envelope arrived with holes on  3 sides and a PO rubber band keeping it all together.

Recyclers, please, please, please know when your envelope has reached the end of it's life span! 

I agree Karen, recycling makes me feel good but it's also important to know when an envelope has given it's all and should be retired gracefully. 

Unpadded manilla envelopes work well if folded down firmly to the book, but I never recycle those.  I am getting more creative with plastic underwrap tho, thank to many useful suggestions from other members!

I recycle the heck out of padded envelopes. I always seem to end up with many many more BIG envelopes than I need, so I am often cutting them down to fit the books I am shipping. I think a lot of the envelopes I send end their journeys because I do so much cutting and taping.

I also recycle all the padded envelopes I can!!

Someone posted this a while back, but I'm posting it again because it's pertinent to this discussion. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/SmartHome/story?id=5998756&page=2

OFFICE ENVELOPES

Envelopes with plastic windows. Recycle them with regular office paper. The filters will sieve out the plastic, and they'll even take out the glue strip on the envelope flaps.
Paper FedEx envelopes can be recycled, and there's no need to pull off the plastic sleeve. FedEx Paks made of Tyvek are also recyclable (see below).
Goldenrod. Those ubiquitous mustard-colored envelopes are not recyclable, because goldenrod paper (as well as dark or fluorescent paper) is saturated with hard-to-remove dyes. "It's what we call 'designing for the dump,' not the environment," says Matsch.
Jiffy Paks. Many Jiffy envelopes -- even the paper-padded ones filled with that material resembling dryer lint -- are recyclable with other mixed papers, like cereal boxes. The exception: Goldenrod-colored envelopes must be tossed.
Padded envelopes with bubble wrap. These can't be recycled. The best thing you can do is reuse them.
Tyvek. DuPont, the maker of Tyvek, takes these envelopes back and recycles them into plastic lumber. Turn one envelope inside out and stuff others inside it. Mail them to Tyvek Recycle, Attention: Shirley B. Wright, 2400 Elliham Avenue #A, Richmond VA 23237. If you have large quantities (200 to 500), call 866-338-9835 to order a free pouch.

Interesting Sophia, thank you for sharing.  So...are the envelopes I call 'manilla' what you are referring to as 'goldenrod'?  Sounds like instead of tossing them in our paper recycle bin, I should be tossing them in the garbage?

I don't think this image was copied correctly. Goldenrod refers to the envelope on the right.

http://www.ecocycle.org/images/envelopes.JPG

I recycle mine whenever possible. Even when they are a little beat up they are better protection then the 2 sheets of paper pbs suggestions for wrapping your books.

I'm all for recycling and I do recycle all sorts of things, including mailing envelopes.

But there comes a time when that envelope that brought the newest edition to your TBR pile is on it's last leg. There is a point when it's seen it's last postmark.

I recently got a book in a recycled envelope and the end was open (it had 2 small pieces of P.O. issued tape keeping it closed), the book was damaged (scuffed up and liquid damaged) and I had to mark it RWAP. You could tell it was a very used worn envelope, and that, mixed with the Post Office's "gentle handling", the book's chances of arriving to me in the condition it was sent was greatly decreased.

I feel that if the book had not been sent in that "too many times recycled" envelope, chances are, it would have arrived just fine. Maybe if the sender had "mummified" the envelope, like I often do with a used envelope, it would have been ok....

But how do you mark RWAP, blaming both sender AND P.O.? ( I know, you can't.. I marked it the P.O's fault, btw)

So I'm out the credit and have an unpostable book!

If the book's damaged because the sender didn't wrap it well enough, then I'd RWAP it and mark it as the sender's fault and ask for my credit back.  I have done that a time or two when I get something in a multi-recycled bubble envelope that has come open and damaged the book.  I didn't hesitate a second, it was the sender's fault for reusing that envelope again when it was clearly trashed.

That's why I hate recycled envelopes.  I have yet to receive one that I'd feel comfortable wrapping a book up in and sending it out again.  I toss them all.

Sophia --- if I'm understanding correctly, this thread is using the word "recycle" to mean using over and over again. Not as in, putting in the recycling bin for someone else to recycle into another paper product or what have you.

I'm another recycler!  I do take care to make sure the envelope is in good condition before reusing it.

And for what it's worth, I've had some books falling out of new envelopes. It's all in how it's taped.