5 Ways to Ensure Quality Cardboard Recycling

5 Ways to Ensure Quality Cardboard Recycling

5 Ways to Ensure Quality Cardboard Recycling

Introduction

Are you aware that when you recycle one ton of cardboard, you’re saving over 17 trees? Now imagine when you are recycling tons and tons of cardboard. Choosing the recycling path means you are helping in saving our ecosystem.

Cardboard is a highly marketable material, and recycling such waste has far-reaching economic benefits as well as a positive environmental impact. Here are some ways you can ensure the quality of your cardboard recycling in New Jersey and achieve the economic value attached to it.

  1. Source the materials separately

    The method used in collecting scrap materials has a significant impact on its value. The reason is that co-mingled materials have the potentials to either lower the material’s quality or requires additional sorting before carrying out recycling, which increases operating cost. To avoid this additional cost, ensure your source your cardboard material separately. Source separation refers to the immediate process of collecting a specific type of waste as at when it enters your waste stream. In short, as a company, you should work with your recycling service provider to understand the best method grouping and sourcing materials, as much as cardboard recycling in New Jersey is concerned.

  2. Always keep it clean

    Sometimes, cardboard items themselves are contaminated with substances that cannot be removed before recycling. Things that easily stain or damage cardboard includes organic waste, tape, labels, powered residue, and food. Although all recycling allows a certain level of contamination, too much of it may force a recycle company to lower the rebate value or just reject your load.

    You can avoid these issues by keeping materials that are overly contaminated separate from an entire load of your recycling. You also collect these materials as separate recycling stream, so you don’t reduce the value of your other cardboard. Contact your service provider who engages in cardboard recycling in New Jersey to understand what contaminants are allowed or would be rejected.

  3. Keep the cardboard dry

    Cardboard recycling in New Jersey centers on the quality of the cardboard itself. Since cardboard is just another type of paper commodity, its value as scrap paper depends mostly on its fiber quality. Paper fibers that get wet easily weaken and experience more tear and damages. As a result, their tensile strength and overall value are reduced. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you avoid getting your cardboard wet for recycling. Store cardboard in places where they are not exposed to wetness. Also, avoid any co-mingled collection that contains liquid contaminants. Consider separate recycling of wet cardboard papers. You can also set it aside to get dry before adding them to the recycling process.

  4. Keep your cardboard dense

    One factor that significantly reduces cardboard recycling rebate is the cost of transportation. To reduce transportation cost, it is advisable that you make each recycling load as dense as possible. The most cost-effective way to compact cardboard for recycling is baling, where possible. In a situation where your company isn’t able to bale the material, using compactors is also an efficient way to create more dense recycling loads. For better quality assurance and densification options available for you, contact your service provider for cardboard recycling in New Jersey.

  5. Checkout the bale weight

    If you have decided to bale your cardboard recycling in New Jersey, try as much as possible to use your baler efficiently. The best way you can know if you’re using your baler is to check the weight regularly. All bales are not of the same, and the size differs, depending on which one you are using. Nevertheless, you should be able to set target weights based on the equipment specs and the materials you are loading.

Final thought

These are just a few professional tips on how to get the best from your cardboard recycling in New Jersey. For more ideas on increasing the value of your cardboard recycling streams, call All County Recycling today.