Services · recycling
The last resort, done properly.
- Pricing
- By quote
- Material
- Old corrugated containers (OCC)
- Availability
- Depends on partner suppliers
Ask about OCC
Tell us roughly how much you have per month, whether it is baled or loose, and how contaminated it typically is. Photographs help.
Answer first
Recycling is good. Being the first answer is the problem.
Corrugated recycling works: the fibre goes back into new board. The problem is that it can become the default, applied to containers that still had working trips left in them. Reusing a box avoids making a new one, and recycling it too early skips that.
So recycling is best treated as the exit of last resort. If boxes are dry, intact and uncontaminated, ask about selling them first. If they are finished, a partner supplier can advise on recycling.
Service
What recyclers commonly take, and what it has to look like.
| Material | Usually accepted | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Baled OCC | Often | Best handled material; each buyer sets its own bale spec |
| Loose corrugated, sorted | Often | Volume dependent; sometimes better sold as reusable stock |
| Loose corrugated, mixed | Case by case | Sorting takes labour, which affects the quote |
| Wax-coated corrugated | Usually not | Contaminates the furnish; needs a specialist outlet |
| Food-soiled board | Usually not | Commonly rejected |
| Boxes with liners still in | Sometimes | Pulling liners first generally helps |
| Mixed paper or office grades | Usually not | A different market |
Process
From your dock to a recycler.
- 01
Describe what you have
Volume, format and contamination level, with photographs if you can.
- 02
A partner supplier follows up
The supplier advises on whether collection or baling is available and what it would cost.
- 03
Salvage first
Ask whether reusable boxes can be pulled out and offered separately before anything is baled.
- 04
Collection
Arranged with the supplier where they offer it, for example a roll-off for accumulation or scheduled trailer pickup.
Questions
Recycling, answered.
What is OCC?
What is baled cardboard worth?
Should I bale or should someone collect it loose?
Is recycling documentation available?
Bale quality
What moves an OCC load up or down.
A little separation at source often helps. These are the things buyers commonly look at.
Usually helps
- Consistent bale weight and dimensions
- Dry material throughout, including the bottom course
- Corrugated only, with no mixed paper grades
- Liners and plastics pulled before baling
- Tape and labels minimised where practical
- Predictable volumes the buyer can plan around
Usually hurts
- Wax-coated corrugated, which contaminates the furnish
- Food residue or spoilage
- Plastic film, strapping and liners left in
- Metal such as banding or fixings
- Wet or previously wet material
- Mixed office paper, newsprint or boxboard
Should you own a baler?
It depends on your volume.
Steady, larger volumes can justify on-site baling. Small volumes are often easier to hand over loose.
- Small volumes
- A baler is rarely worth the lease, power, maintenance and floor space. Loose collection or a shared container is usually simpler.
- Middle volumes
- Marginal. Model it properly before committing, and count the labour to feed it.
- Large, steady volumes
- On-site baling may pay for itself, and selling bales can beat paying for loose hauls.
- What people forget
- Labour, power, maintenance, floor space, and the temptation to bale reusable containers.
- The middle path
- Ask a partner supplier whether a container can be placed for accumulation, with reusable material pulled out first.
Check for reusable stock before it goes in the baler.
Boxes booked as scrap sometimes include reusable ones. Ask a partner supplier whether any are worth pulling out.