Waste cardboard is one of the easiest materials to recycle as it’s made from natural wood fibres. Almost all businesses use it in one form or another on a regular basis, usually as packaging. Rather than throwing it in with general waste that ends up in landfill, choose cardboard recycling for a sustainable and environmentally friendly choice.
At Business Waste, we provide free cardboard recycling bins and offer cardboard collection anywhere in the UK. Contact us online or call 0800 211 8390 or complete our online form for a fast and free quote today.
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Our cardboard recycling services offer your business a low-cost and simple solution to remove your waste cardboard. We cover all of the UK, so wherever you’re based and whatever the size and type of businesses, we can arrange cardboard collection to suit your needs.
Whether you have a small office and just need your cardboard bin emptying once a fortnight or run large-scale operations that require regular bulk cardboard recycling, we can provide a solution tailored to your business. Simply tell us the size and number of cardboard recycling bins you need and how often you want them collecting for a free, fast quote.
We provide free cardboard recycling bins near you with delivery included, so you just pay for collection. Fill them up with clean and dry cardboard in time for the agreed collection and enjoy the benefits of your used cardboard heading to recycling rather than landfill. We’re fully committed to reducing the impact excessive waste has on the environment.
For more information and advice on how we can meet your cardboard recycling needs, contact us today for further assistance. We can offer you a free quote for a variety of cardboard recycling bins, so call us today on 0800 211 83 90.
The general process for cardboard waste recycling after collection from your business is:
Waste cardboard can take up a large amount of space. Sadly, many organisations admit to throwing it away, as they don’t have the recycling or storage facilities for such large quantities. We can provide your business with a free cardboard recycling bin in various sizes for daily, weekly, or fortnightly cardboard collection that meets your needs.
Easily store waste cardboard on your premises with our cardboard recycling bins and arrange collection when it’s convenient for you. Cardboard recycling is safe, simple and a great way to replenish resources for your business. It’s essential your business recycles this useful material and efficiently manages cardboard waste across your operations.
Find a cardboard recycling bin right for your business.
Small, two-wheel cardboard bins like domestic ones
Medium sized cardboard bins with four wheels
Large cardboard bins that hold lots of used cardboard
It’s quick and easy to organise commercial waste collection for your business.
Simply start by telling us the:
We’ll provide you with a free quote.
When you’re happy with the type, number, and size of free dumpsters, tell us when you need your dumpsters delivering.
Let us know about any access issues where you want the dumpsters delivering – such as locked gates, access codes and times. We’ll get you up and running in no time.
After the free dumpsters arrive at your chosen location, fill them up with the agreed trash type.
Make sure you remain within any weight limits for the specific waste type and bin size.
We’ll arrange waste collection at a time and frequency to suit you and the amount of waste you have.
Cardboard waste is simply any used items made from heavy duty, thick or multi-layered sheets of stiff paper. As the material is similar to paper, cardboard is ideal to recycle as it’s made of fibres previously processed from trees. In your business it can include parcels, storage, food boxes, and more.
Your commercial cardboard waste needs to be clean and dry. Recycling wet cardboard or dirty boxes is difficult, as it contaminates and weakens the fibres and material. Unfortunately, this means wet and dirty cardboard often ends up as general waste – going to landfill or being incinerated.
The types of cardboard waste you can recycle includes:
All businesses use some level of cardboard within their daily and weekly operations. You may produce minimal waste from just the cereal, tea, and food boxes in the office kitchen, or require bulk cardboard recycling if you run a restaurant and generate a high volume of cardboard waste. Certain businesses have a greater need for cardboard collection, such as retailers, food catering, distributors, and wholesalers.
We have a range of free cardboard recycling bins available to meet the cardboard waste recycling requirements of your business – from cardboard office recycling bins to storage for retail packaging and more. Our nationwide coverage means we can provide and collect old cardboard across the whole of the UK, ensuring every business can arrange delivery of cardboard recycling bins near you.
Recycling one tonne of cardboard can save up to 17 trees. It avoids your business sending waste to landfill – saving 2.3 cubic metres of landfill space – and helping meet your environmental and ethical responsibilities. And because cardboard recycling doesn’t incur landfill tax, it can also save your business money.
More than 12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard are used in the UK each year, with predictions this will rise mainly due to increasing numbers of online orders. Of this amount about 5.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard are used for packaging, of which 65.6% is recycled.
Sadly, this means around a third of all waste paper and cardboard is not recycled and ends up in landfill. Considering the environmental and financial benefits commercial cardboard recycling introduces – reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption – there’s more to be done.
Picture the scene, a hellhole of mess, card piled up the wazoo and nowhere to turn, we needed a solution and Business Waste was just that. We put out the tender for card collection and they came in under Biffa and Smurfit and sorted out a wheelie bin, collections were reliable and regular.Lewis Gibson
Upon the stunning realisation that this might take longer than the half life of Bismuth to get rid of our backlog, they were quick to swap the bins for a bigger one so I could get through our piles faster.
One day though, disaster struck, the collection didn’t happen, nor the next, nor indeed the week after. The binmen were on strike. Egads did I cry, what are we do?
We need a hero and Morgan Britton was that hero, riding in like Arwen to defeat the Ringwraiths, she fought with tenacity, keeping on top of the depot, holding on like a kitten to a ball of wool, updating not only daily, but sometimes hourly, checking if they’d been and chasing the depot tirelessly. Soon, the dragon was defeated and our bin was emptied and she kindly arranged for a new collection day to avoid the strike problems.
How do you recycle cardboard?
There are a few steps for how to recycle cardboard:
How do you get rid of a lot of cardboard?
When you have a large amount of cardboard to recycle and are a domestic customer, you can take it to your local recycling centre. If you’re a business with a big volume of waste cardboard, you need to use a registered waste carrier – especially for bulk cardboard recycling.
Talk to a specialised waste management company like Business Waste about your needs. One of our expert team can advise you on a range of cardboard collection, storage, legal and disposal options to help remove your large amount of cardboard waste, including baled cardboard rebates.
What should I do before I recycle cardboard?
The first thing you should do before you recycle cardboard is to make sure it’s all clean and dry. Remove any contaminated items and set to one side as these will not be recyclable. Next, remove any excess tape from the cardboard – it’s not necessary to remove all of this as the recycling process will deal with it.
Flat pack cardboard as much as possible and store in a container that keeps it dry. If you have a large amount of cardboard, a Mill Size baler can help with storage – as can specific lidded containers and roll-off bins.
Can you recycle Tetra Pak with cardboard?
Tetra Paks are plastic coated cartons that commonly contain milk or juices. They’re made from 80% paper-based materials but also contain plastic and sometimes hidden metal. This means you can’t recycle them with normal single sheet or corrugated cardboard loads. However, we’re in partnership with a growing number of Tetra Pak recycling centres opening around the UK.
Can you recycle a pizza box?
Many pizza boxes have recycling symbols on them and are made of corrugated cardboard. In theory, this means you can recycle most pizza boxes. However, including cardboard that’s tainted with grease or food in your load will be seen as a contaminant and render the load useless. Make sure pizza boxes are clean and dry before including with your cardboard recycling.
Can I mix cardboard and paper recycling?
Generally, you can mix thin cardboard and paper for recycling as it’s made from similar fibres processed from trees. However, corrugated cardboard is usually recycled separately from paper due to its thicker and extra layers.
Can I mix different grades of cardboard in a recycling load?
Different grades of cardboard can be recycled together providing the whole load is clean and dry and not contaminated with food, grease, or chemicals. Some wax-coated cardboards are biodegradable but not recyclable.
How much is cardboard worth in the UK?
Only customers with regular volumes of waste cardboard measured in tonnes can potentially gain a rebate or warrant a free collection. Cardboard is a global market and prices experience large fluctuations. In 2022, cardboard recycling prices are between £105 and £125 per tonne.
To sell your cardboard, you need to ensure your load is free from contaminants like food, liquid, grease, or Styrofoam-type packaging. One of the most cost-effective ways to store cardboard for recycling is in bales. This also ensures a maximum financial return, as the cardboard is already in the format required at the recycling plant. You require a mechanical baler to store cardboard this way.
What can I do with commercial cardboard?
Recycling commercial cardboard waste is the best thing you can do to save you money on disposal and landfill costs, while also helping the environment. Arrange collection and cardboard disposal by a registered waste carrier – ensuring you receive a duty of care certificate – for a safe, easy, and cost-effective way to get rid of your business’ cardboard waste.
Can you burn cardboard?
Burning waste is only a good alternative if it provides an efficient fuel. Burning cardboard does not and it will release contaminants and gases into the environment. Many local authorities have regulations surrounding smokeless fuels and cardboard burning falls short of these. Recycle your cardboard waste rather than burning it to avoid wasting a reusable resource.
Are Amazon boxes recyclable?
Yes, most Amazon boxes are made from cardboard, which means they’re easy to recycle. If you receive an Amazon delivery at home you can put the empty box in your domestic recycling bin, or at your workplace put it in your commercial cardboard recycling bin. Remove any tape and flatten them to save space.
How long does cardboard take to decompose?
Cardboard takes around two months to decompose when composted. How long carboard takes to decompose depends on the type and size of the sheets though, so sometimes it may take up to six or eighth months. Layering other compostable materials on top of the carboard and regularly turning it speeds up the process.
Get a fast FREE quote for your cardboard waste recycling
Firms filling landfill sites and resorting to illegal activity to get rid of their rubbish Many businesses have not got the message on recycling and send most, if not all, of their rubbish to landfill, a study by one of the UK’s leading waste and recycling experts has found. According to the Business Waste commercial […]
