How to give your used corrugated boxes a new life

With over 800 sizes of boxes, at RAJA we can always offer you, the customer, a box for your needs – no matter what your products look like or how fragile they are. But what do you do with the used box after it has served its purpose and the products have arrived safely at their destination?

To answer this question, let’s start by reviewing the basics of corrugated and cardboard materials, for those who are not familiar with how the material is constructed.

What is corrugated board?

Corrugated board is a paper packaging material that is mainly used in cardboard boxes due to its shock-absorbing properties. As the word corrugated cardboard suggests, “wavy cardboard”, (well comes from the German “welle” meaning wave) the material consists of an inner wavy middle layer surrounded by two glued sheets of paper (also called liner or planchette) on either side of the middle layer. This construction makes the material very resilient. The outer layer is often made of kraftliner, which also provides some moisture and water repellency.

Depending on the number of layers, the board is given different names – single-wall, double-wall or triple-wall. More layers of corrugated board mean that the package is more resilient and can provide effective protection for heavier or more fragile products.

See also: What is the difference between single-wall, double-wall and triple-wall?

Can corrugated board be recycled?

Answer yes – corrugated board is 100% recyclable. If sent in for recycling, old corrugated boxes can be used to make new cardboard boxes or other products. By recycling your used cardboard boxes, you are helping to reduce the amount of trees and energy used to make new cardboard boxes. As the European leader in packaging, RAJA has a wide range of environmentally friendly packaging, and all our corrugated boxes are made from at least 70% recycled material.

Corrugated cardboard is sorted as paper packaging at the recycling station, fold your boxes flat and they will take up less space in the container. Don’t forget to separate other layers of material, for example if the boxes have been sealed with packing tape or plastic packing tape.

Is corrugated board biodegradable?

Yes, corrugated cardboard is biodegradable, which means that pieces of cardboard can be left in your compost pile at home (remember to separate any plastic materials). Tip: cut your corrugated cardboard into smaller pieces and soak it, and it will break down faster.

Biodegradability means that a material decomposes naturally and over time becomes compost without harming the environment. Food waste, for example, is extremely biodegradable and usually transforms in a short time. Cardboard takes longer to decompose, so it’s still best to take your used cardboard boxes to a recycling centre, so they can give life to new cardboard. But leaving corrugated cardboard in your compost is not dangerous for the environment.

Prepare your used cardboard for recycling or composting

Separate cardboard from plastic

Not all layers of material are as ‘forgiving’ as corrugated cardboard – if your used packaging has been sealed with plastic tape, it’s important to separate the layers of material before the cardboard is composted or handed in for recycling. Any plastic packaging material is simply placed in the plastic waste recycling container.

Tip: replace your company’s plastic packaging with environmentally friendly paper alternatives. At RAJA, we make it easy – check out our paper packing tape, paper packing envelopes, paper packing tape and paper stretch film. If the entire package is made of paper, you don’t have to separate the materials for recycling or composting.

So if you use paper packaging, you make it easy for your customers to recycle!

Fold your cardboard boxes for recycling

Once the non-degradable tape has been removed, you can easily flatten the box. Folding packaging takes up less space in the recycling container – if we all fold our boxes for recycling, we can optimise the recycling cycle together.

Folding your box is easy. Start by unfolding the tabs on the top and bottom of the box. Then fold the corners diagonally and the box will fold flat. A flat box is easier to store and transport, for example, think about how moving boxes are stored flat before they are assembled.

Tip: keep your boxes dry for recycling! As well as wet boxes being harder to handle, corrugated cardboard also becomes porous from water which means it can be tougher to recycle.

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