Do you have a pile of cardboard laying around? Get rid of it now!
If you’re on the internet, chances are good that you’ve surfed through e-commerce stores. Stores like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and others all take advantage of technology to provide goods to customers via the internet. Of course, if you choose to order a physical item, that item must then be shipped to you—and what’s the cheapest way to ship items? Cardboard, of course!
It’s estimated that Amazon alone ships around 608 million packages in a year, which equates to around 1,600,000 packages a day. A majority of those packages are cardboard; the material is versatile and holds up well even in short periods of time in poor weather.
This means that cardboard boxes are commonly saved for a later date by the consumer—while cardboard ‘slips’, separators, and dividers are commonly immediately thrown into the garbage or, at the best of times, the recycling bin. That’s a lot of wasted material that could have been reused.
If you don’t know the types of cardboard or when to recycle it, you can very easily become overrun with cardboard products—which may result in needlessly throwing the material out in the garbage, simply because there is a lot of it. Luckily, recycling cardboard in Atlanta can be done easily, quickly, and cheaply. Many people recycle cardboard in Atlanta, GA by taking their used boxes to the local recycling facilities, but there is an easier way.
Instead of throwing it all away, give Junk King a call—we’ll pick it up, take it away, and we’ll even responsibly recycle it for you. Just search for ‘cardboard recycling near me’ to read more about Junk King, and if you’re wondering how to recycle cardboard, read on to learn more.
Different Types of Cardboard That You Can Recycle in Atlanta
There aren’t very many types of cardboard in the world, and there are even fewer different types of cardboard that can be recycled. Most cardboard is created out of paper wastes, but it can also be created out of fibers tree pulp. Some cardboard can have a glossy finish, while others may have multiple layers which makes them stronger and more durable than other options. Usually, all of the different types of cardboard can be separated into one of two categories:
Corrugated cardboard is the type with an inner layer of wavy cardboard, making it composed of three layers that are durable and thick. Items usually shipped in this are fragile and so these boards come in a range of thicknesses. This is the type great for box forts and castles.
Paperboard/Chipboard is the most common cardboard available. It consists of a single layer and is fragile in comparison to corrugated. It is more stable than a piece of paper, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for forts or castles. Most companies use them for single-use products like breakfast cereals or bulk packaging.
Additionally, those who are in framing manufacturing may consider mat board to be a type of cardboard. These boards are fibers tree pulp that has been boiled, dyed, and pressed into flat and (usually) highly durable boards (of multiple plies). You wouldn’t want a fort or castle made out of this, not only are the sheets heavy, they can be very sharp when cut with machines or a mat cutter.
Corrugated and paper cardboards are really the best types to recycle because they break down quickly and can be reused just as fast. Since they are all made from trees, recycling them means you save them from going to the landfill and rotting, but you’re also saving more trees from being cut down to keep up with packaging demand.
Of course, not all cardboard, corrugated or paper, can be recycled—just most of it. For example, cardboard that is rotted, soiled, or wet cannot be recycled. The fibers from the board turn into mush inside of the recycling machines and can halt an entire facility until the issue is fixed.
This is why weekly trash services which are single-stream must go through all of the trash they receive for disposal—meanwhile, dual-stream trash services go through all of their recycling bins in order to prevent harming the machines.
If you aren’t confident in choosing what cardboard items should be recycled and what should be thrown away, consider if the board is relatively clean or if it has been in a rather clean, dry area. Each piece of cardboard, being made out of paper essentially, has the potential to rot from the inside out because of the porous nature of trees—so if you don’t know if a box is considered clean or not, it’s important to find out.
The easiest way to do that is to have an expert do it for you. Additionally, if you’re not sure about how to get your cardboard to a facility, and you don’t want to call a moving team for it, you can always search for ‘recycled cardboard near me’ for the top-rated recycling options in your area.
Cardboard Boxes vs. Greenhouse Plastic – Which is the Best Material for Your Needs?
The environmentally conscious person may say ‘well, we can do better than recycling cardboard; we can just use plastic instead.’ While this may work in some instances, holistically switching all packaging to reusable plastics would only create a different problem in regard to fossil fuels vs. deforestation.
For example, in order to create 1kg of cardboard, there needs to be three times the amount of wood, water, and electricity. When using recycled materials to made cardboard, water and energy can be reduced by half, but the base wood amount remains the same.
In contrast, in order to create 1kg of plastic, there must be double the amount of petroleum, water, and electricity. Further, even when using recycled plastics, only the energy consumption is reduced—the water and gas remain the same necessarily.
Thus we see the trade-off—do we end chopping down trees in favor of using more fossil fuels? Which is better plastic or cardboard boxes for storage? It’s hard to say what the right choice is from this perspective. Instead, it might be easier to view which material to use in terms of what meets your needs.
For example, you wouldn’t use a cardboard box for long-term valuable storage. Your belongings would be better saved in a plastic bin with a locking lid. By that same token, you wouldn’t need a plastic bin for something like cereal (unless you really like cereal). The same goes for things around the house, cardboard boxes are great to temporarily store things—but you’re going to want a plastic bin for anything of value or long-term storage/organization.
Manufacturers have a similar issue with the cardboard vs. plastic debate. Plastic ships better than cardboard, but it costs more for that added security—and then the plastics need to wait until someone comes to collect them or until they are shipped out again.
When thinking about greenhouse plastic vs. recycled cardboard, make surer to pick the one that suits your needs the best. Anything that is non-valuable and will be stored for a short amount of time will call for cardboard—but anything else, it’s safer and easier long-term to use plastic.
Why You Should Recycle Cardboard & What You Can Do with it After – Zero Waste Tips
Clearly, there are plenty of uses for cardboard for the modern person. Often, people receive packages from eCommerce stores and then keep the cardboard boxes for use around the home. Storage and organization can make great use of the excess material. However, if you didn’t want to use recycled, used cardboard for that stuff, what can you do with recycled cardboard?
The obvious answer is to take it to a facility that can process it (like Junk King). Another answer though is to shred your recycled cardboard and add it to the backyard or community compost pile. The added fibers assist in getting air into the mound which in turn, assists in further breaking down the compost elements.
You may now be tempted to ask what to do with old corrugated cardboard boxes? Since corrugated boxes are stronger than the average cardboard box, more can generally be done with them. They can be repackaged and shipped off again, or they can be used for a small to medium storage time.
They can even survive being wet for short periods of time. Many gardeners utilize them in greenhouses for helping to store seeds until the next growing period—the extra layers of material assist in keeping the temperature more balanced than thin plastic.
Most cardboard, regardless of its type or the product that was in it, can be reused in different ways. Making sure to prioritize reuse over simply throwing it away will ensure that you get the most out of your cardboard products.
Benefits of Recycling Cardboard with Junk King
At some point in every cardboard’s life, they will need to go either to a recycling facility or a landfill, depending on their condition. Sending them to a landfill, although easier in the beginning, means that the cardboard will break down over time—2 to 12 months usually.
Meanwhile, sending them to a recycling facility will result in the cardboard boxes being broken down and repressed into new boxes and products. Some people may even find recycling materials lucrative, as recycled materials for sale are often quickly bought by DIYers and small businesses.
No matter what condition your boxes or cardboard are in, calling on Junk King North Atlanta is the easiest way to recycle cardboard and/or remove them from your property.
Junk King approaches all of their hauls with an eye towards reuse and recycling—at least 60% of everything they haul is recycled in some manner!—they are even noted as being the greenest removal company in North America.
Additionally, in using Junk King’s recycling abilities there are numerous environmental benefits, such as keeping good products out of landfills.
There are three ways to contact Junk King North Atlanta, and four ways to get a quote today: (1) give us a call at (888) 888 – JUNK (5865) to speak with a customer representative and either get a quote over the phone or schedule an in-person assessment; (2) or, consider texting picture of your junk to us at (737) 888 – JUNK to receive a no-obligation estimate; (3) lastly, you could stay online and follow the prompts of our pricing estimator—at the end of the wizard you can even set up a drop-off time.
Remember, when you choose to move with Junk King, removals are as easy as 1, 2, 3—just point and the junk is gone.
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