Recycling all types of cardboard is valuable for preserving natural resources since producing one ton of virgin cardboard requires three tons of trees for raw material. These two different grades of paper have different commodity values. “Paperboard”, on the other hand, is thinner and less sturdy and used for cereal boxes and other products. This makes it tougher to tear and sturdier for shipping.
“Cardboard” is the term used to describe most boxes, however, shipping boxes are technically called “corrugated cardboard.” The extra layer of fiber that zig-zags between the outer and inner layers is the corrugated piece. In addition, many types of cardboard can be “downcycled” into paperboard material to be used for cereal boxes and other containers, and chipboard like that found in shoeboxes, for example. It’s estimated that over half of the cardboard recycled is used to make new cardboard boxes. This also helps explain why it has the highest recycling rate of paper products: 92.9 percent in 2015. “ Corrugated cardboard is the highest value grade of paper, as its durability means long paper fibers.
In addition to the most common materials - paper, glass, metals and plastics - there are also many furniture items and appliances that can be recycled, not to mention lawn care equipment.īut cardboard is not only one of the most common types of recyclable materials, it’s also one of the most valued.
But what about large amounts of junk like empty boxes? Do you know how to recycle cardboard properly?Īs we’ve noted in other posts, there are multiple items that can be recycled. For most of us, recycling is just throwing our recyclables into the right containers.