Why is it Essential to Recycle Your Corrugated Cardboard?

December 3, 2021 Box Material, Sustainable Packaging

All countries are taking immediate steps to alleviate different environmental challenges. Packaging waste is a huge challenge for environmental protection from pollution. Renowned and successful businesses in all countries are paying great attention to this vital aspect of nature safety. Plastic packaging is one of the main hurdles that come in the way of environmental protection. On the other hand, corrugated cardboard is the highly preferred packaging material by retail companies. Furthermore, custom corrugated boxes have a clear sustainability benefit over plastic as it is biodegradable and breaks down into the soil much quicker.

What Is A Cardboard And How Is It Made?

Do you know what cardboard is? This material is made of paper pulp and used mainly for making cartons and is used to create custom cardboard boxes, paper-based material that can be corrugated, typically into three different layers. The two outer layers have smooth surfaces, and the central layer is corrugated.

What Is Corrugated Cardboard Material?

Corrugated cardboard is a layered, thick, and highly durable type f of cardboard. It is typically used for the packaging of different types of products and shipping purposes. It is essential to mention that it is the most recycled cardboard type.

Additionally, custom corrugated cardboard boxes are easily recycled and reused, benefiting brands in many ways. Let’s discuss why it is important to recycle these cardboard packaging materials:

Why Do You Have to Recycle Cardboard Packaging?

Cardboard recycling is essential for many reasons for brands and consumers. Nowadays, people are more conscious about nature protection and prefer to get products that come in eco-friendly packaging that doesn’t add pollution to the environment.

Before understanding the reasons to recycle it, you need to know what type of cardboard can be recycled. When you plan to collect it for recycling, you must ensure it is clean and dry. In addition, cardboard material is compressed before being placed in the recycling bin. You can also recycle products with a small amount of contamination (such as fats and liquids). Though, you cannot consider recycling waxed cardboard because synthetic additives derived from petroleum make it unable to recycle.

How Often Can You Recycle Cardboard?

Paper-based products, including cardboard, can be recycled 5 to 7 times. When cardboard is recycled, its fibers become shorter, making them less durable and thinner. At the end of this material’s life cycle, cardboard is changed into paper/cardboard paste used for egg cartons and newspapers.

Top 9 Advantages Of Recycling Cardboard Packaging Boxes

Here are some significant reasons and benefits of recycling cardboard packaging boxes for brands and people:

1- Reduce Greenhouse-Gas Emissions

You may understand that an increase in the amount of waste going to a landfill can lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. A greenhouse gas has global warming capacity twenty-one times more strong than carbon dioxide (CO2). Methane is one of the greenhouse gasses that is released from cardboard during the decomposition process. This gas will seriously affect the environment and the Earth’s climate. One of the important benefits of cardboard recycling is that it helps minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Ultimately, it will help keep the environment healthy.

In addition, making product packaging boxes from recycled cardboard materials reduces water by up to 99% and energy use by up to 50%, saves trees, and minimizes chemical waste by up to 90% on average.

2- Reduce Landfills And Dumps

The most important advantage of recycling this material is that it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills. It is important to understand that these landfills are known for their adverse effects on the environment. They lead to more air and land pollution. Therefore, recycling this cardboard packaging can help solve these problems.

Different organizations have developed innovations to recycle or reuse different product packaging materials, especially cardboard, due to its high usage in the market. They try to minimize the amount of waste that reaches the landfill. This way, recycling cardboard helps reduce the area of landfills and dumps that are also harmful to human health.

3- Recycling Reduces Energy Consumption

There is a shortage of electricity all over the world, and everyone is working hard to save energy. More energy is needed when you have to make cardboard from raw materials. Cardboard recycling only takes approximately 75% of the energy required to create a new packaging box. Recycling one ton of cardboard saves 4,000 kW (kilowatts) of electricity and 6.6 million BTUs (British thermal units) of energy. In addition, it also saves seven thousand gallons of water.

This way, you can save enough energy by recycling corrugated and non-corrugated cardboard instead of producing it with virgin materials.

4- Safe Trees and Create a Healthy Ecosystem

We have mentioned above that cardboard is made of wood or trees. When trees are used to produce cardboard, deforestation and tree felling will take place. The new production of cardboard packaging boxes will increase deforestation and reduce the forest area that is essential to produce oxygen for living bodies. You can recycle cardboard to save trees and forests to help prevent deforestation. Furthermore, it will also help protect wild animals living in the forest and wood.

Reduces Global Warming Effects

Cardboard breaks down in landfills, causing the release of a toxic greenhouse gas called methane.

Methane is 80 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide regarding global warming over the first two decades after it reaches the airspace. Nearly 25 percent of global warming is caused by methane gas.

5- Conservation Of Water

The new production of cardboard material requires a lot of water consumption. On the contrary, recycled cardboard consumes less water. In a nutshell, when you recycle cardboard, you save nearly 7000 gallons of water on every ton of cardboard you recycle.

6- Recycled Cardboard Boxes Cost

Cardboard recycling makes packaging cost-effective for brands. Companies can get custom recycled cardboard boxes at economical prices which saves them a big amount of money to package their products.

7- New Career Opportunities

For recycling packaging materials like corrugated cardboard, labor is required. They work in collecting, organizing, processing, managing, and logistics. This way, many career opportunities are opened for people. This way, it plays a vital role in countries’ economic growth and stability.

8- Wide Range of Applications

Recycled corrugated cardboard is used to make different types of packaging boxes and has many useful applications in various fields. You can package an enormous variety of products in these boxes such as:

Pizza Boxes
Gift Boxes
Shoe Boxes
Food Packaging
Cake Boxes
And many other products packaging.

9- Reduction Is Environmental Pollution

Most manufacturers indeed use cardboard boxes for packaging their products. After first time use, consumers throw them away because they cause environmental pollution. Furthermore, they may cause the spread of hazardous diseases and health issues not only among human beings but also animals. The recycling of cardboard material reduces solid waste pollution in the environment. That is a plus point of recycled cardboard boxes for the ecosystem.

How Are Cardboard Boxes Recycled?

Custom corrugated boxes made with cardboard are also recycled to make new packaging boxes. After their collection, they are sorted by type and put in a particular solution to decompose cardboard faster. They get a pulp shape that runs through special filters that purifies them. After this process, the pulp is mixed with approximately 25% new wood chips. Then the pulp mixture is then run through dryers to remove moisture before putting them into new cardboard boxes generating machines.

CBM- Experienced Custom Boxes Provider

We at CustomBoxesMarket provide our clients with the perfect quality of new and recycled cardboard boxes wholesale packaging at a reasonable cost. You can get the best packaging for your product boxes with free shipping in the USA. Go green with us and grow your business in the competitive market, satisfying eco-conscious customers.