upcycle mooncake boxes

Mid-Autumn Festival will be over soon. Fancy mooncake boxes; Love or Loathe them? Keep or Throw? Reuse or Upcycle? Anything but recycling, because fancy packaging can’t be easily recycled.

Furthermore, recycling is NOT working, and definitely NOT the answer to our mounting waste pollution problems. I buy my mooncake sans packaging. If I see nice mooncakes boxes, I’ll shamelessly ask for them. If you have been throwing away your mooncake boxes and wonder what else you can do with them, here are some ways that I reuse the containers.

// Serving tray, for pretty tea sessions

// Laptop stand, to improve airflow

From Trash To Treasure : Upcycled Mooncake Boxes // Mono + Co

// Baby keepsake box, for the most beautiful memories

// Bookstand, for current reads

// Desk organiser, for hiding away all stationery mess

// Toolbox, for the handywoman in me

// Pantry organiser, for better space management

// New arrival, looks suitable as CNY decor like this

project 001 mooncake box 004

I don’t usually go for the prettiest packaging when it comes to buying mooncakes, like most people, taste of the mooncake matters more. Fancy packaging provides this recipient here with a joyful feeling that tends to be short lived when it is time to decide if I should dispose of or stow away for some unknown purpose. Rarely the latter, as the fancier the packaging, chances are, they come in a real cumbersome bulk or an odd shape that take up far too much space.

I have been pretty happy with the few regular brands that sell their mooncakes in conventional tin boxes that I can recycle after a quick rinse to get rid of crumbs and grease. But once a while, something plasticky ends up at our home from well meaning friends and I recently found that I seem to have a penchant for upcycling these no-so-easy-to recycle containers into household items that I can use everyday.

Like this box from a local bakery :

project 001 mooncake box 008

It seems to be made from laminated plastic so when I found that regular tissue box fits well in the larger top cover, I sew a wrap with a felt cloth and turn it into tissue box holder. The end result is pretty encouraging.

Have you done anything similar with your mooncake packaging?

project 001 mooncake box 001