Samsung’s TV Boxes Can Be Turned Into Cat Houses & More

We all know that cardboard can be recycled. It’s why we flatten our boxes and put them into our blue bins for trash day. But it takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to transport your cardboard, break it down to its component pieces, and then remake it into new cardboard. What if you could skip that process entirely and turn that old box into something useful right now, right in your home?

That’s a question that Samsung asked, and according to Gizmodo, they decided to cut out the middle man and ensure their customers could upcycle their TV boxes right in their own home.

Get The Most Out of The Packaging

Samsung is already taking steps to use corrugated cardboard in its packaging, making sure that it uses recycled material in its initial construction and can be recycled once that time comes. However, the boxes also have dot-matrix patterns printed on them and QR codes that can be scanned to give customers assembly instructions for turning their boxes into useful items. The three models that are part of the initial offering are a magazine rack, an entertainment center, and a cat house.

The idea is that individuals can make what they need out of something they have, bypass the need for the boxes to be carted off, broken down, and then remade into fresh cardboard to be useful again. However, when the new item has served its purpose (the cat has shredded the house, the entertainment center sags, or the magazine rack gets too worn for further use), the cardboard can finally go into the blue bin knowing that it served to do more than just cart your TV from the factory, to the store, to your home.

And if the idea proves popular? We could see additional items (and more companies) getting in on this trend.