The majority of businesses understand the importance of recycling their office waste. However, some don’t realise simply throwing your cardboard in a multipurpose office recycling bin with other paper waste isn’t the best way to guarantee it’s going to be recycled correctly.
What is cardboard?
Simply, cardboard is heavy duty paper. It is mostly used as packaging and is available in single layer sheets but is more communally found in different corrugated forms with flat faces surrounding s-shaped flutes. Cardboard is a recyclers dream material as it is made with a high percentage of recycled fibres, making it really easy to recycle.
Why is cardboard easy to recycle
Cardboard is the easiest material to recycle because the fibres that it is made from have already been processed once from trees.
How can recycling cardboard benefit my business?
Environmental impact
Recycling cardboard can help your business manage your waste responsibly. Reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfill. Recycling your cardboard at your office not only diverts your waste from landfill, but also reduces the number of regular journeys to your location by waste collection vehicles which itself has a positive environmental impact.
Rebates
You can actually make money from your cardboard waste. Shredall SDS Group currently offer rebates on large amount of cardboard waste, meaning your organisation can get something in return by getting rid of your cardboard waste responsibly.
Improve recycling rates
Every business should aim to improve their recycling rates in a variety of waste streams from paper, outdated products, textile, cardboard and anything that can be re-used/recycled. Anything that can be used again instead of ending up in landfill is a benefit to your business processes.
Can I mix cardboard recycling with my paper recycling?
Usually, corrugated cardboard is recycled separately from paper. To achieve the best quality, it is always best to collect and recycle the two grades separately.
Can I mix multiple grades of cardboard in my recycling bin?
Different grades of cardboard can be recycled together as long as the material is dry and not contaminated with food, grease or chemicals.
How can I implement this in the workplace
Separate your cardboard waste
The easiest way to ensure your cardboard gets recycled is to implement a separate cardboard recycling bin/storage option to your employees. Ensure that every recycling and waste station throughout your office has an additional bin that’s clearly labelled to collect cardboard.
We can provide you with wheelie bins or Roll-on Roll-off skip containers for your cardboard waste. More information can be found on our cardboard recycling page.
Communication is key
Communicate to your employees the importance of recycling cardboard, where they can recycle it and how to recycle. Stress the importance of keeping the cardboard dry as once cardboard is wet it can be extremely difficult to recycle and that they should break it down to create space in your bins.
How can I recycle my cardboard?
Contact us for a quick quote and we can implement recycling stations at your workplace. We can schedule a collection on an ad-hoc or scheduled basis, depending on your businesses needs.
Leave the rest of the work to us, once we have collected your cardboard, we will compact and shred the waste if needed and recycle it at UK recycling mills.
What happens to my cardboard once it leaves my business?
Once your cardboard is collected, we will transport it to our depot where it is shredded the same way as paper waste if needed, It is then baled. Paper can be recycled with cardboard, however it’s better to keep the grades separate as they will be transformed into different products after recycling.
Once the cardboard is baled it is sent to the board mills for pulping. This involves crushing the cardboard into tiny pieces, mixing it with water and chemicals that will turn it into a pulp. This mixture goes through a series of filtering, chemical and centrifugal processes which removes any tape, metals, plastics and ink. The now clean pulp is dried and pressed to form long sheets of new cardboard.
