He said his team also works with nonprofits to expand community recycling and make curbside programs more efficient and municipalities to educate residents on what can be recycled. Hudson said WestRock works with private landowners to ensure the fibers it uses come from sustainably managed forests. By recycling just 500 books, we could save between 17 and 31 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 587 pounds of air pollution, 3.06 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,077 kilowatt hours of energy according to the American Forest & Paper Association. This is a chemical process involving hydrogen peroxide, sodium silicate, and sodium hydroxide. However, the following statistics demonstrate exactly how much difference we can collectively make if we recycled all of our cardboard. For families stuck indoors and desperate for entertainment, a cardboard box can transform into a makeshift playground for the kids or a refuge for the cats. Industry operators have largely been buoyed by the movement of consumers to shop online, according to the report. Small amounts of tape are generally ok and can be removed at the recycling center. The concern is that irresponsible recycling facilities could be using toxic and non-biodegradable surfactant compounds instead of more environmentally friendly compounds. To learn more about this major shift in global recycling trade, watch the video below: Communities used to sell recyclable materials to buyers who would then ship those materials to China for a profit. Amazon now relies on proprietary artificial intelligence to calculate the best fit for orders, which sometimes means using an envelope instead of a box. Two months in a row would be a lot, five months is unheard of.. When making cardboard from wood, you have to turn the wood into pulp. To save space, flatten cardboard boxes before putting them in your recycling bin. Make peach Melba shortcakes with vanilla cream and fresh raspberries, How to store fresh herbs to keep them perky and happy, Esquites tacos with Takis and black beans are inspired by Mexico City, specifically targeting the omicron variant, track how many Americans have been vaccinated, a guide to help you decide when to keep wearing face coverings. 17 billion cardboard tubes are thrown in trash annually. If you have a business, like a grocery store, and you use large amounts of cardboard, you could be profiting off your cardboard use. One side of the recycled paperboard is usually gray in color. Recycling paper products is a multi-step process. Postal Service 2005 Household Diary Study, 85% of U.S. households usually read some or all of the advertising mail they receive. T.J. Maxx declined to comment on this story. The earliest form of cardboard can be traced back to 17, Cardboard didnt reach Europe until the 19, The first mention of the term cardboard was first used in the novel . All the cardboard Target uses within its operations is bundled and brought to local recycling vendors.. Recycling one ton of cardboard can save 17 trees. The people of the 17th-century China back then made use of thick paper as a packaging material. One printing chemical found in inks is diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). 9 Common Questions (Answered), Is Tin Eco-Friendly? Recycled cardboard equates to saving 24% of the energy required to make a new cardboard. Recycled paperboard is made from 100 percent recovered fiber, which may include newspaper, magazines, corrugated boxboard, paperboard folding cartons, and telephone books. The Atlanta-based manufacturer of corrugated packaging, paperboard and containerboard employs 50,000 workers. Recycled magazines are used to make newspaper, tissues, writing paper and paperboard. While it is hard to look at the damning statistics regarding the amount of cardboard that is wasted each year, the recycling statistics also show that something can be done. China used to import one half of the worlds recycling. Today, the cardboard box landing on your doorstep typically includes about 50 percent recycled fibers. If we dont recycle cardboard, we are forced to make it from raw materials; wood. are passed into the recycled cardboard. Corrugated cardboard boxes are made from 75% recycled material and can be transformed from recycled material to finished product in as little as 14 days. 4. Methane absorbs the suns heat and warms the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. But trade data shows money made from exporting recyclables has tumbled since China enacted restrictions on U.S. imports in 2018, and some countries followed suit. When hot take-out food is placed in one of these containers, its highly possible that phthalate chemicals can transfer to the food. Day to day, though, they have been a crucial if often overlooked link in the nations supply chain. Then recycle it. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, direct mail accounts for 2.4 percent (by weight) of the total municipal solid waste generated in this country each year. And the corrugated industry is scrambling to keep up: Paper mills are running at full speed, and some producers are capping orders and contracting out to smaller companies. How Big Cardboard is handling the 2020 box boom. Be sure the paperboard you have is clean and free of food waste. Every year natural disasters destroy countless acres of wilderness. Postal Service also motivated consumers to start online shopping earlier. 7 Important Questions Answered, 5 Reasons Why Sky Lanterns Are Bad For the Environment (+3 Alternatives), Are Velvet Hangers Eco-Friendly? Currently, about 70 percent of cardboard-boxes shipped commercially are recovered for recycling. In many places, you can simply drop the phone book into your recycling bin and leave it curbside for pickup. Cardboard is more biodegradable than plastic packaging, but its production is linked to deforestation and heavy chemical use by paperboard mills. Yes, all recycling in the U.S., at least, has become expensive for cities and local governments. Check all cardboard containers for the triangular recycling symbol and/or recycling instructions. Make sure your cardboard is clean before recycling it. This program began in Florida and has been expanded to communities across the country. The production process of making cardboard from wood requires a lot of water. Poly-coated paperboard containers undergo a process known as "hydro-pulping." It's also made into more corrugated cardboard. Weve optimized the box size to the product, so were reducing the amount of fiber that box requires. Expect a booster shot specifically targeting the omicron variant to roll out this fall, and immunizations for children under 5 became available this summer. Just think on a daily basis how much cardboard you interact with. And the chemical ingredients may vary from recycling center to recycling center. With today's recycling technology, nearly all community recycling programs accept glossy magazines and catalogs for recycling. 9 Common Questions (Answered), Are Metal Utensils Eco-Friendly? The fibers are screened and cleaned to eliminate contaminants. Its also made into more cardboard. Cardboard together with paper make up about 41% of solid waste streams. What is the UK doing about Waste Collections? In 2017, 36 percent of the paper and paperboard recovered in the U.S. went to produce containerboard, the material used for corrugated boxes, and 12 percent was used for boxboard, which includes basestock for folding boxes and gypsum wallboard facings, according to AFPA. "Mixed paper" is the term used to define the many kinds of paper products that can be collected and recycled from our daily mail. 9 Important Facts (You Should Know), Are Tea Lights Eco-Friendly? Most of this is packaging on foods and retail items. Around 80% off all products sold in United States and the EU are packaged in cardboard. When you break that number down by population, roughly 334 pounds of paper is recycled for every person in the United States. 11 Facts You Should Know, Are Wooden Candle Wicks Eco-Friendly? We're also reducing the amount of fill product that box requires, Hudson said, as bubble wrap and similar fillings are hard to recycle. According to the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), 68.2% of discarded paper products, like cardboard, were recycled in 2018. Clients play a role in efficiency, too. Several years ago, it was common for an Amazon order to arrive in a huge cardboard box, with several smaller cardboard boxes inside wrapped in plastic air bubbles. Whereas recycled cardboard has already been through that production stage. Heidi Brock, President and CEO of the American Forest and Paper Association celebrates that the paper-based recycling rate has doubled since 1990. This is the most commonly recycled cardboard, and you should have no problem recycling it at any recycling center as you follow the recycling rules listed above. 9 Common Questions (Answered), Are Zippers Eco-Friendly? By creating demand for fresh cardboard, we add to this waste. About 45 percent of sub-content-3 are being recycled today. But they were receiving tons of contaminated material. The first mention of the word cardboard can be traced to a novel which was written by Anne Bronte titled "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" in the year 1848. Lower-grade papers, such as newsprint, colored paper, file stock and ground wood papers, are made into cardboard, tissues, newspaper and toilet paper. Industry experts say ensuring most of those boxes dont end up in landfills needs to start at the beginning of their life cycles. Over the years, cardboard is one material we use in almost every sphere of life. But even though these boxes are so common (just look around the grocery store), they are not accepted by all recycling centers. Before, we discuss the facts regarding waste and recycling, lets learn a few facts about the history of cardboard and how it has become one of the most abundant materials in the world today. That's because paper products make up about 71 million tons (or 29 percent) of the municipal waste stream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In the United States, an average household throws away more than 9000 pieces of cardboard every year. Advancements in technology and design have meant that packaging companies are using material that is around 20% lighter than it was a decade ago. Recycling cardboard only takes 75% of the energy need to make new cardboard. Which Are the Disadvantages of Recycling Cardboard? This is the thin cardboard that you see for packaging non-frozen, non-liquid materials. Bales of containers are first reduced to pulp, which separates the polyethylene from the paper fiber. More than 73% of all newspapers in the United States are collected and recycled. As an individual, you can contact your local recycling centers and ask if they pay for cardboard, especially corrugated cardboard boxes in good condition. High-grade papers, such as white computer paper, bond, and letterhead, can be turned back into office paper if it's kept separate from other waste paper. In the United States, 544,000 trees could be saved every year if each household can replace one roll of 70-sheet virgin fiber paper towels with a roll of 100% recycled paper towels. On a daily basis, U.S. papermakers recycle enough paper to fill a 14-mile long train of boxcars. The United States historically has exported much of its waste materials, including old corrugated containers (industry speak for used cardboard boxes), mostly to countries in Southeast Asia and Mexico. It's the right thing to do. The rolls of paper are then converted into boxes or made into new products. Correction: Paper packaging consumes 3 billion trees worldwide each year. Shipments continued to climb through the fall, peaking in October, and box makers are on pace to end the year with record production to meet this years skyrocketing demand. By weight, paper comprises more than a third of all recyclables collected in the US, nearly 45 million tons in 2010. Looking for inspiration? Meanwhile, three new recycled containerboard mills are expected to be built over the next two years, with a $4.1 billion investment in manufacturing to continue recovering fiber for reuse, Brock said. Toxic Chemicals May Be Used in the Recycling Process, 3. How Much of All Our Cardboard Trash Gets Recycled? We've updated our Privacy Policy, which will go in to effect on September 1, 2022. So in 2018, China implemented Operation National Sword and halted the importation of the worlds recycling. Call your municipality for more information. What Happens If I Dont Recycle Cardboard? The shiny appearance does not contaminate the paper at all. Therefore, recycled cardboard should not be used for food containers because it could be contaminated with phthalates. That means the packaging is more protective, ensuring suppliers quality for its customers, and more efficiency: Smaller packaging means postal and delivery workers can fit more packages on trucks, which reduces carbon emissions from gas and saves time. But it is a significant piece of the solution. The recovered paper fibers can be recycled into items such as tissue and paper towels. In the United States, 850 million tonnes of paper and cardboard are thrown away annually. You save approximately 7000 tons of water for every ton of cardboard you recycle. Some consumers think glossy paper can't be recycled. Make sure boxes are empty. See the latest coronavirus numbers in the U.S. and across the world. Are you careful to recycle your old ones? There are enough phone books created each year to measure 106,700 miles when lined up end to end. In the united states, more than 80 billion corrugated boxes are used per year. As the e-commerce has grown, so has that ability for the resident to recycle cardboard, and how that has evolved where it is easy and more knowledgeable for us to catch more and more of that product, Hudson said. The Homewood Disposal Center in Homewood, Illinois says, Yes! 3. Dont worry if the cardboard isnt picture perfect. America consumes enormous quantities of milk and juice, requiring tremendous outlays of energy to produce, ship and landfill the cartons. Just over 45% of office paper is recovered for recycling today. When we recycle cardboard instead of using wood, we can cut the sulfur dioxide pollution by 50%. But this year, between June and October, box shipments met 34 billion square feet an industry record each month. But how many people know that cardboard recycling in New Jersey is a thing? Globally, the cardboard box is one of the most recycled items. Everything you need to know about plastic recycling for your business, Business Benefits of Having a Cardboard Shredder. It's a planting process that's been practiced in the United States since the 1950s - and it all starts with newspapers. To ensure your cardboard is getting recycled instead of heading to a landfill, its important to contact your municipality or local recycling center. Waste Management, Tropicana Products, Dean Foods and select carton manufacturers have launched a program in which residents can recycle these containers in regular recycling bins at no additional charge. Well-documented backlogs at the U.S. Recycling one ton of cardboard equates to saving 390 kWh of energy and 46 gallons of oil. Paper cannot be recycled indefinitely. Vaccines: Will you need a fourth coronavirus vaccine? As more people stay at home, its a good reminder that the box at your doorstep is designed to be recycled.. Corrugated cardboard is recycled into cereal boxes and new cardboard. Landfills are toxic for the environment because they pollute water and air. The pages in a phone book are 100% recyclable and are often used to make new phone books. What Products Does Cardboard Get Recycled Into? Cardboard is recycled into paper bags, paper towels, tissues, and paper. The company has also invested $10 million in the Closed Loop Infrastructure Fund to improve recycling for 3 million homes in the United States. Paper recycling has long been a success story in terms of recovery, and one that continues to improve over time. When these materials are recycled and made into a pulp, the ink, adhesives, bleach, etc. Whereas many residential recycling centers dont have the means to process mixed-material cardboard. Processing recycled materials may not be the magic cure-all for our environmental woes. The cardboard is re-pulped and the fibers are separated and bleached. Try these recipes to prepare dishes with confidence. Twenty years ago, newsprint contained only about 10% recycled fiber. Chairman and CEO Mark Sutton said during an Oct. 29 conference call that it continues to see very strong double-digit growth in e-commerce, with increased consumer reliance on e-commerce as a spending channel., Overworked and exhausted, warehouse workers brace for a frenzied holiday rush. In fact, upwards of 63 percent (45 million tons) is recycled annually. Recycled newspapers can be made into cereal boxes, egg cartons, pencil barrels, grocery bags, tissue paper and many other products, including new newspapers. Ice cream containers and juice boxes are examples of coated cardboard. Buying a pair of shoes from your local store, opening your lunch, sending a parcel, moving house. The polyethylene is used in furniture, to generate energy, or reduced even further into paraffin, which "blends" the cartons so the non-paper and paper layers separate. How Long Will It Take That Bag of Trash to Decompose in a Landfill? When you recycle your cardboard, its getting reused instead of going to a landfill. WestRock invested $2 million in an upgrade to its Marietta, Ga. recycling facility in October which Hudson said was crucial to handling this years high demand. If you have contaminated cardboard at home, you can cut off the clean pieces for recycling, but the contaminated portions are at the end of their life cycle. However, you can cut the clean portions off of contaminated cardboard, and recycle the clean parts. But WestRock now uses its box-sizer machine for customers to right-size the package and reduce waste. 11 Facts (You Should Know), Are Wooden Toys Eco-Friendly? Most of us use a paper product every day. 2. 11 Important Facts (You Should Know), Are Rechargeable Batteries Eco-Friendly? Cardboard is a paper product made from wood fibers that go through a pulping process. These mixed-material cardboards have been strengthened by other materials to use for liquids and frozen produce. 11 Important Facts (You Should Know), Are Yoga Mats Eco-Friendly? According to the U.S. Each time cardboard is recycled, its fibers become shorter, making it thinner and less durable. That depends on the kind of cardboard and your local recycling center. Find out how you can reduce your waste and start recycling by investing in a cardboard baler. Paper products, including cardboard, can be recycled 5 to 7 times. Only a fraction of these are recycled. Where do things stand? Keep reading to find out why you should go to all the lengths necessary to recycle your cardboard. In 2019, the recovery rate stood at 92 percent. The average newspaper today is made of a high amount of recycled fiber. Why Every Company in the United Kingdom Should Own a Wa How Can a Cardboard Baler Help With Business Waste? In the United Kingdom, cardboard has the highest recycling rate of any packaging in the world. What Are the Benefits of Recycling Cardboard? Corrugated box shipments grew 9 percent in March from the year-ago period, industry data shows, despite a brief dip in revenue when the pandemics initial shock froze up the supply chain. It can be made into corrugated cardboard boxes for shipping and packing. Today, the cardboard industry remains strong and in the United Kingdom alone, the industry is worth around 4 billion and employs around 27,000 people. Most of the companies surveyed expect another price hike in the first half of 2021, anticipating even more demand, including from vaccine shipments. This equates to around 1 billion trees, a terrifyingly high number. 11 Things You Should Know, Are Ziploc Bags Eco-Friendly? According to his research teams most recent survey of box producers released Dec. 13, growth in production was still up 5.1 percent in November and 4.5 percent so far in December, which doesnt account for much of the holiday season and last-minute shoppers ordering shipments. In this case, its up to the recycling centers to use the eco-friendliest alternatives. When we make cardboard from wood, we waste more energy and resources. Recycling one ton of cardboard can save 4000 kW of electricity and 6.6 million Btus (British thermal units) of energy. The city of New York, for example, only made $12 per ton of paper products in 2019. Next, the paper is covered with a white clay that makes color photographs look more brilliant. Not a lot of people know that cardboard is recyclable, and they do not know the basic facts about cardboard either. That may have been true in the early days of recycling, but no longer. The US alone throws away around 1 billion trees in cardboard per year. In fact, they have to pay an additional cost of nearly $80 per ton to process them. Highway departments also use it to beautify roadsides by planting wildflower, tree, and shrub seeds. 8 Important Questions (Answered), Are Vinyl Gloves Eco-Friendly? Its absolutely critical that the investments in single-stream sorting technology continues to occur so that the industry as a whole can match with the change in how recyclable material comes available, he said. If you have some cardboard at your disposal, the wise thing to do is to contact a company proficient in cardboard recycling in New Jersey. But if you have cardboard that is not recyclable, like cardboard covered in food, oil, or grease, you can simply place it in your garbage for regular trash pick up. Paper Recycling Facts, Figures and Information Sources, Textile and Garment Recycling Facts and Figures, Learn More About E-Waste Recycling With These Facts and Figures. Remove plastic delivery labels and envelopes. Recycling one ton of cardboard can save more than nine cubic yards of landfill space. Over one-third of new paper is produced with recycled fiber. But shipments were again soon boosted by retailers overstocking of food, cleaning supplies and toilet paper amid the panic buying so prevalent in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. So sometimes it involves running extra hours and into weekends to keep up with demand., Memphis-based International Paper, the nations largest forest products company, produced more than 2.7 million short tons of corrugated packaging, up 2 percent year over year, according to its third-quarter earnings report. While Americans are recycling more paper each year, our recycle rate for direct mail remains low. These incredible statistics demonstrate the power of recycling and how, if every citizen does their part, we can save a lot of natural resources. That meant the industry had to step up efforts to process more of those recycled fibers domestically. And its a perfect material for recycling. They must be put in the trash. Even as the broader economy slid into recession and industries took a hit, e-commerce sales stayed afloat. As the world gradually begins to lose its natural resources, technological advancements should be able keep production going. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Walmart and Gap representatives did not respond to requests for comment. 80% of products purchased in the US and the EU are packaged in cardboard. You can also track how many Americans have been vaccinated. Once you establish a new pattern, its really hard for it to change.. Cardboard became known in Europe in the 19th-century. For example, some facilities require you to break down boxes and some even ask you to tie your cardboard together to avoid the wind blowing it away. 4413, 391 Enterprise Ave, Trenton, NJ 08638, USA. The Basics of Clothing and Textile Recycling, An Introduction to Solid Waste Management, An Introduction to Plastic Recycling and the Plastic Recycling Process, Zero Landfill an Important Component of Zero Solid Waste, Wood Pallet Recycling - Business Perspective, How to Improve Your Shrink Wrap Recycling Program, The Balance Small Business is part of the. More paper by weight is recovered for recycling from municipal solid waste streams than glass, plastic, steel and aluminum combined, Heidi Brock, president and chief executive of the American Forest and Paper Association, said in an emailed statement. It stabilizes roadside dirt for erosion control and is used to reseed grass over broad areas. However, this isnt a strong argument against recycling because making cardboard from raw materials is a process that uses even more chemicals. In fact, retail analysts say, e-commerce sales squeezed in more than two years worth of growth since the pandemic began nine months ago. The production of virgin cardboard also uses far more water and chemicals than cardboard that has been previously processed. Also called "gable-top cartons,"these are the non-plastic milk and juice cartons you see in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. By doing so, you are contributing to reducing the amount of trash going to landfill, saving water, raw materials and making our planet clean. These are recyclable once cleaned and dried, but only by facilities that have the means to process them. One of the chemicals used during the process, surfactants, are known to have toxic effects on aquatic organisms. If we realise that all of the waste from these actions can be recycled, it could have a lasting impact on our planet, in the most positive way possible. If you have doubts about what kind of cardboard your local facility takes, you can check their website or give them a call. Recycling cardboard produces less than 50% sulfur-dioxide than making the card from raw materials. This is a dangerous chemical when ingested. Any wet cardboard has to dry before it can be recycled. In the United States, the corrugated cardboard box was manufactured in 1895. Newspaper is a fine insulator. Recycled Cardboard Shouldnt Be Used for Food Packaging. And as packaging changes, the more that retailers and corrugated producers learn about consumer needs. 6. Either way, it's important to recycle them. Many of the boxes are themselves made of recycled materials or lumber industry byproducts like sawdust and wood chips. The fibers are washed to remove leftover ink. Two-thirds of packaging material recovered for recycling is paper, more than the combined total of glass, metal, and plastic. Corrugated cardboard is thick, layered, and durable. Recycling one ton of cardboard can save 9 cubic yards of landfill space. Some recycled non-paper products earn New York no profit at all. 9 Important Facts, Are Reed Diffusers Eco-Friendly? Using recycled newspapers to produce cellulose insulation is widespread. But there are a few cardboard recycling rules you should follow: 1. With every recycling, fibers become shorter. At some point, yes, there was some pantry loading as people were preparing for what the effect might be of the pandemic, but I think were past that point and what were seeing here is new consumer behavior, said George Staphos, a senior analyst covering paper and packaging for Bank of America Securities. Brock says: More than twice as much paper is recycled than is sent to landfills. Find out some of the most amazing facts about cardboard recycling in New Jersey. Thats why many cities all over the U.S. have either stopped collecting recycling or have begun to charge for recycling pick up. 11 Facts You Should Know, Are Yankee Candles Eco-Friendly? 10 Common Questions (Answered). What Makes Soap Eco-Friendly? Georgia-Pacific, one of the worlds largest manufacturers of pulp and paper products, is already running its mills at full capacity, executive Brian Smith said in a Marketplace interview. Recycling one ton of corrugated equals saving 700 gallons of water. 7. All cardboard is recyclable, send it to us!. At the end of its lifecycle, it can be made into a paper paste and used for newspapers and egg cartons. The following facts should help you understand just how abundant cardboard is, the issues with the amount of waste it produces and the benefits of recycling it. Rick LeBlanc wrote about sustainability and supply chain topics for The Balance Small Business. 9 Facts (You Should Know), Are Wax Melts Eco-Friendly? Its often used in packing and shipping. Recycling just one ton of paper saves enough energy to power the average American home for six months, so don't be afraid to recycle your old magazines. Here are 6 overwhelming reasons why you should make sure your cardboard goes in the recycling bin. This process creates a gas that causes acid rain, sulfur dioxide. Over 68 million tons of paper and paperboard products are recovered annually in the U.S., achieving a recycling rate of 64.7 percent. New processing facilities are opening around the country in an attempt to make recycling profitable for U.S. cities once more. This totals around 400 billion square feet of cardboard! If your cardboard has food residue, oils, lots of tape, foam peanuts, or plastic envelopes common to delivery labels its probably going to end up in a landfill. When cardboard is sent to landfills, it eventually breaks down and releases the greenhouse gas, methane. Remember they are some types of cardboard that are not recyclable, for example, milk cartons and some pizza boxes. An average household can throw away as much as 13,000 separate pieces of cardboard every year.
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