We all love getting a package in the mail - but are we recycling our cardboard boxes and packing material inside correctly? Read on for tips on how to recycle right.
Ninety-six percent of Americans have made an online purchase, and 80% of us shop online each month! Much of our online shopping is made possible by the simple corrugated cardboard shipping box. We all love getting packages so let’s appreciate cardboard boxes by emptying, flattening them and placing them in our recycling bins so they can get a second life. Recycling cardboard boxes decreases solid waste disposal in landfills, provides new fiber to make new paper products, uses less raw material and energy, and creates jobs. Recycling is an important part of the circular economy, ensuring valuable materials are used again instead of ending up in the landfill where they have no value. In 2017, 8.1 billion dollars’ worth of recycled fiber was collected, sorted, and processed by the paper recycling industry creating jobs and supporting the economy.
How to Properly Recycle a Cardboard Box
Follow these steps when recycling cardboard boxes:
Resource: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, November 25, 2019
Last updated October 16, 2020