Sunday, July 1, 2018

How to Utilize and Recycle Corrugated Packaging in a Sustainable Way

Why is Corrugated a Sustainable Material?

Sustainability is founded on the idea that everything we require for existence is influenced by our natural surroundings in some manner. It also establishes and implements the circumstances that allow us to live in harmony with the environment today and in the future. Corrugated packaging is perhaps the most recycled packaging material on the globe, as it is made primarily of trees, which are a renewable resource. It is made from trees and older recycled corrugated containers in a sustainable manner, with an industrial recovery rate of about 90% over the previous eight years and 96 percent in 2018.


The restored fiber is used to manufacture new packages as well as other paper goods. This is one of the main reasons why the normal corrugated box contains 50% recycled material. Corrugated has a recovery rate of 78 percent, which substantially outperforms other common packaging materials like plastic, which only recovers approximately 15 percent. Corrugated, which is frequently mistaken with cardboard, is a robust and durable material that is also cost-effective, reusable, and recyclable, making it the most environmentally responsible packaging solution for your requirements.

Corrugated Recycling 

How Does It Function?

Companies, merchants, and customers recycle their old corrugated containers so that new ones may be made, but how does the recycling process function once the old corrugated containers (OCCs) are dumped off?

The OCCs are collected, compressed, and baled for space-saving storage once they are dumped off. The bales are then sent to a paper mill, where the corrugate is broken down and placed into a repulper, which is similar to a huge mixer. They're agitated in the repulper to make a slushy pulp of fiber and water. After removing the impurities, the leftover fiber solution is placed onto a rotating screen that enables the water to drain away, producing a continuous fiber mat. To eliminate any remaining water, this mat is pushed between rollers. After this step is completed, the paper is placed onto a huge reel spool, slit, and rewound into separate rolls, and the recycling process is deemed complete. Those paper rolls are delivered to sheet factories, where they will be recycled into sustainable corrugated packaging.

Recycling's Advantages

Improved efficiency in mill energy sources, enhanced recovery for repurposing, and the use of low-impact fossil fuels were all verified in the most recent corrugated industry life cycle assessment (LCA) issued in June 2017. Corrugated packaging recovery also decreased greenhouse gases by 35% from 2006 to 2014 by getting corrugated out of landfills, according to the LCA. Landfill methane emissions contribute significantly to climate change.

Corrugated recycling has a real and substantial influence on our entire planet wellbeing. It reduces the amount of solid trash that is disposed of. Recyclable fiber that can be utilized to manufacture new corrugated packaging without needing to start from scratch. As old corrugated containers (OCC) are a significant resource for both paper mills and new corrugated producers, they may also provide money.

How Do You Reuse Corrugated Boxes?

The lengthy fibers in corrugated material get smaller and smaller every time it is recycled. Corrugated material may be reprocessed up to seven times until the fibers get too small to be reprocessed again, at which point it is converted into a paper mixture and used to make products like newspapers or egg cartons.


You must eliminate all non-paper packing material before recycling corrugated material. Packing peanuts, styrofoam, air pillows, and foam are examples of this. As a severely food-stained container cannot be reused, ensure the material is dried, cleaned, and free from food items. Even if a box is broken, it can still be reused if it is dry and clean. Finally, before putting your corrugated material in a recycling container, flatten it or shred it up.

Corrugated Reuse

Corrugate's most underappreciated feature is that, in addition to being a renewable resource, it can also be recycled. The material's resilience and versatility enable it to be utilized several times before being repurposed to make new recyclable corrugated packaging.



Corrugated material is commonly utilized in the transportation of consumer products. Almost everything you purchase online will come in a cardboard box on your door. Certainly, your focus is pulled to what is contained within the box, but don't overlook the box itself. Why don't you get that box, flatten it, and put it away for later? But before you do that, ensure it's in good structural form. You'll like to make sure the edges and sidewalls are clean and sturdy. You may easily flatten it and store it once you've finished.


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