Recycling Paper Boards
This category includes paperboard products such as brown corrugated cardboard, cereal boxboard, shoe boxes and similar material.
Corrugated boxes, also called old corrugated containers (OCC), are used to store, ship, protect and identify goods. A corrugated box has flat, outer sheets of dense fiber which sandwich an inner ruffled or "corrugated" layer.
Because of its durabiity, low reprocessing cost and high value, corrugated recycling has been practiced since the 1880s.
Preparation
Breakdown and flatten all cardboard boxes. Remove tape, staples and strapping wherever possible. Try to breakdown into 3' x 3' sections.
What to recycle
Brown corrugated cardboard, brown paper bages, boxboard such as cereal boxes, shoe boxes and gift boxes.
What not to recycle
Pizza boxes, refrigerator and freezer boxes, pop and beer boxboard, waxed corrugated cardboard.
Fast Facts
A few facts about corrugated cardboard recycling:
- Over 90% of all products in the U.S. are shipped in corrugated cardboard boxes.
- 70% of all corrugated is recovered for recycling—the largest source of waste paper collected for recycling.
- Corrugated is often made of recycled content and almost always made of post-consumer material.
- Corrugated is environmentally friendly, able to accept non-toxic water-based inks and also to be processed without bleaching.
- After it’s recycled, paper (including OCC) is used to make chipboard, paperboard (i.e., cereal boxes), paper towels, tissues, and printing and writing paper.
- Ozone-depleting chemicals have been virtually eliminated from the manufacture of OCC; the use of heavy metals has been dramatically reduced; over 97% of inks on boxes are now water-based and non-toxic; and virtually all box plant trimmings (waste from manufacturing) are recycled.
- Even raw materials used to make OCC—lumber industry byproducts such as sawdust and wood chips—are renewable resources.
- Making the pulp from trees for use in corrugated cardboard creates sulfur dioxide pollution. Recycling corrugated cardboard into new products cuts the pollution generated by half.
- Corrugated cardboard manufactured from recycled pulp uses about 75% of the energy used in the manufacture of corrugated cardboard made from virgin pulp.
