Recycling Corrugated Boxes

It's a horserace as tight as any recent presidential election. According to the latest figures from the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), corrugated cardboard still maintains the top spot in the paper products recycling race.

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We all deal with corrugated cardboard on a daily basis. It's the layered packaging product with a rippled looking piece of cardboard called the flute, placed between two flat sheets of cardboard and used to deliver many products from home appliances to grocery store goodies.

According to the statistics, corrugated cardboard comes in at a 70.1% recycling rate (down from their high of 73%), with newspapers holding the second spot and closing fast at a 68.9% recycling rate.

Corrugated cardboard's recycling success also extends across state boundaries. The Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPBC) of Canada announced that corrugated recovery and recycling rates reached the 77% mark in 1996.

Why the success? Perhaps convenience accounts for the greatest portion of corrugated box recycling success. Unlike other paper products, the nature of the product makes bulk collection comparatively easy. After removing any staples or tape supporting the box structure and any packaging material inside the box, corrugated boxes are easy to flatten and store, in both residential and commercial settings.

Although commercial enterprises account for the largest quantity of corrugated box shipments, recovery and recycling, many residential curbside recycling programs accept them.

The absence of contaminants such as waxes and other items such as non-water based paints on the box, also provides a recycling edge when it comes to reducing the recovered material to fibers during the recycling process.

Convenience aside, active marketing for recycling helps. Many industry associations in the United States, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise Program actively plan for and encourage their member firms to think corrugated recycling. Additionally, The Corrugated Packaging Council of the United States (CPC) promotes recycling by providing a specifc symbol to be used on its members' products accompanied by a toll free telephone number for interested individuals and businesses seeking local recycling information.

During an experimental call to the number, this writer received an immediate and courteous response with an address and phone number of a local recycling firm.

© 2001. Patricia A. Michaels.