Cardboard Recycling Drop Off 📦 – How To Get Rid Off Cardboard Boxes!

Cardboard Recycling Drop Off 📦: Waster is a really strong advocate for increasing recycling. And, cardboard recycling, in particular, is often the first step (and sometimes the most effective) in implementing a waste management plan for your business and reducing waste management costs.

>Download Now: Free PDF Business Owners Guide To Cardboard Recycling Bin Services

In this blog, we run through how you can the find high-quality information sources on cardboard recycling. In addition, we also highlight some of the key facts you need to know.

Many of the people who approach us always ask about cardboard recycling drop off options – usually when they move house or have an excess number of (usually cluttered)cardboard boxes. This, of course, could be due to moving house or even just after buying a new product such as a television etc.

In these instances, the large cardboard boxes can be too large to fit in your normal council cardboard recycling bin.

So, where can you find the actual cardboard recycling drop off options available to a private individual or a small business?

We have previously published blog entries on whether you can get free cardboard collection (answer – maybe!)

Cardboard recycling drop off options: what options do you have available?

If you have excess cardboard, you really have the following options:

(a)Have a rubbish removal business come and pickup your excess cardboard from your property. A company such as 1300 RUBBISH – a reputable Australian business – will come to your location and collect your cardboard. However, it should be noted that this will be a paid service to cover the team’s time and effort.

(b)The next option (and potentially a free option) is to take the excess cardboard to a council run cardboard recycling drop off facility. At these facilities, they will generally allow cardboard recycling drop off for no charge. They will, of course, charge you for other waste drop offs.

Nearly all council areas will have a facility nearby suitable for this service. For example, you can see the facility based in Artarmon, Sydney here.

In Sydney, you can find a lot of cardboard recycling drop off locations such as Bingo Recycling Centre, Enviro Paper Recycling and 24/7 Rubbish Removal. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, there are also a lot that includes CSC Waste, A2Z Recycling and Cleanaway.

For residentials

As for residentials, they have a more convenient option than searching for cardboard recycling drop offs.

Instead, they can contact their local council and have their cardboard picked up and sent to recycling plants or facilities FOR FREE. We strongly advise households to utilise this amazing privilege.

Common misconceptions regarding cardboard recycling drop offs

Many people have a view that their cardboard is valuable and that someone will pickup the cardboard for free or even pay for the waste cardboard.

In 2019, cardboard was worth, at most, $200 per tonne – for high quality clean cardboard (compacted or baled) in large volumes.

In these instances, a collection company may pay a rebate to a company who has large amounts. So in other words, they may incentivise those with many tonnes of compacted cardboard. This would involve a offering a subsidised collection service, wherein the rebate is against the usual collection charge. This is how cardboard recycling drop off companies work.

For loose cardboard (i.e., non-compacted collected in bins), there is a collection fee. Obviously, for small amounts of one off cardboard recycling drop off, there will be a collection fee.

You can see a useful fact sheet here for cardboard recycling provided by Planet Ark.

Key facts mentioned in the fact sheet include:

“More than 80% of Australia’s paper and cardboard packaging is made from recycled fibre. The lowest grade of recycled paper goes into cardboard products.”

“Cardboard is one of the easiest and most environmentally effective materials to recycle since the fibre in cardboard has already been processed. Therefore making cardboard products from recycled material, rather than virgin fibre, saves not only trees, but also large amounts of water (up to 99% less) and energy (up to 50% less). Manufacturing from recycled material also produces up to 90% less byproducts such as chemical wastes.”

“Cardboard can be recycled along with paper and is remade into many different kinds of paper products. Recycled cardboard can also be made into sound-proofing material, insulation and even furniture. Every time paper is processed the individual fibres become weaker, limiting the number of times it can be recycled – usually up to eight times. Paper that has been recycled as many times as the fibres will allow is turned into compost and breaks down naturally.”

You can also find advice for business recycling here, wherein you can also find cardboard recycling drop offs near you.

The importance of recycling cardboard

Generally, almost all of our readers already have an idea as to why we should recycle our excess or cluttered cardboard. But, plenty still do not know of its importance. We will explain more below.

Basically, you would not want cardboard to make its way to landfill. This happening means it will break down in landfill and will exude methane. Methane, listed as one of the most potent greenhouse gases, more than overpowers carbon dioxide. It is basically 21 times more powerful!

For businesses, this means putting the pieces together and utilising cardboard recycling drop offs to avoid numerous cardboard materials from going into landfill and producing the potent methane that ruins the environment.

How Waster can help with pickups

Waster offers low cost cardboard collections in all bin sizes. And, as with all our services, we have no hidden fees and you do not need to sign a long term contract. Check out our blog on Wollongong recycling for a worked case study of how cardboard recycling can really reduce costs. Cardboard recycling is usually the first step in recycling for retail waste management (i.e., shops).

Always consider if a cardboard recycling drop off as above will suit your business needs. Check out our blog on how technology is boosting recycling.