TO: ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WV ARES BULLETIN NR 09.04 DATE: January 25, 2009
SUBJECT: EMPTY CARDBOARD BOXES
When you get a new piece of equipment such a new computer, monitor, printer, or Amateur Radio, what do you do with your empty packing boxes when you're through with them? Do you just throw them away, or do you reuse them? With the heightened security alert since the terrorist attract on the United States on September 11, 2001, Americans are looking at ways to keep themselves safe. You don't have to be paranoid, but there are ways to keep your discarded boxes and packing material from being used against you, or someone else.
If you just got a shipment of something from a well known dealer, and the shipping container and packing material is still in good shape, it could be used by someone who wants to do you, or someone else harm. Just think what you could do with a real nice looking cardboard box. The box could be re-filled with some kind of destructive device, or hazardous material, and have a new shipping label attached. The package could then be sent to someone, or some business that receives packages on a regular basis. Not realizing the newly re-packaged container could be a disastrous event when it's opened.
There are a lot of businesses that just discard their old shipping boxes and packing material in their local refuse container or dumpster. If these boxes and material are still in good shape, someone could just take them out and use them. If you're not going to reuse the shipping box, you should either mark the box with the word "TRASH", or destroy it beyond re-use before discarding it. It will only take a few minutes to make the shipping container unusable to someone who might want to do harm to you, or someone else.
Ken Harris WA8LLM
Wood County ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
WV ARES District 3 Emergency Coordinator