Recycling Cardboard & Other Packaging Products
♻️ How to Recycle Cardboard (and Why It Matters More Than You Think)
If you’ve ever watched a kid open a present, you know the truth: the real gift isn’t the toy inside, it’s the cardboard box it came in. Within minutes, that humble box becomes a spaceship or castle.
But once the fun is over and the cardboard castle finally collapses, what happens next? That’s where you come in.
🏡 The Simple Truth About Recycling Cardboard
Good news first: cardboard is one of the easiest materials to recycle. Unlike plastics or mixed materials that can cause confusion, cardboard’s story is straightforward—it’s a high-quality paper product that can be recycled again and again.
That means your old shipping box might one day come back as a cereal box, notebook, or even another shipping box making its way to someone else’s doorstep.
🚫 What Not to Toss in the Bin
Before you throw your box into your at-home recycling bin, take a quick peek inside. All those little extras like foam inserts, packing peanuts, plastic wrap, need to go. Cardboard and paper can’t be properly recycled when mixed with non-paper materials.
📦 Cardboard, Paperboard, and Everything in Between
So what actually counts as recyclable cardboard?
Pretty much all of this:
- Corrugated boxes (think: shipping boxes from your latest online order)
- Cereal and cracker boxes (called paperboard or folding cartons)
- Junk mail and magazines
- Newspapers and phone books
- White office paper and mixed-color paper
Let’s break it down a bit further:
Corrugate
This is your heavy-duty cardboard, the kind with the signature wavy middle layer. That “fluting” adds strength, making it perfect for shipping and protecting products. According to PCA, about half of all recycled corrugated cardboard are turned back into new boxes; the rest finds new life as other paper products.
Paperboard
Every time cardboard is recycled, its fibers get a little shorter. Over time, that sturdy corrugated board becomes thinner and turns into paperboard, the smooth stuff used for tissue boxes, cake mixes, and cosmetic packaging.
At Pacific Forest, we specialize in paperboard packaging, giving this recycled material a second (and sometimes third) life as beautifully printed, functional packaging for beauty, food, skincare, medical, and industrial brands.
💧 Keep It Clean, Keep It Dry
Here’s the golden rule of recycling cardboard: if it’s soggy or greasy, it’s not recyclable.
Pizza boxes, coffee cups, and fast-food containers often end up in the wrong bin because of oil or food residue. Wet or dirty cardboard can jam recycling equipment and contaminate entire batches of good material.
So:
- Remove any food scraps or plastic.
- Keep it dry.
- Flatten boxes to save space in your bin.
🌎 Small Actions, Big Impact
It’s easy to overlook something as simple as an empty box, but cardboard recycling makes a huge difference. In the US alone, we recycle about 90,000 tons per day!
So the next time you’re breaking down a box, you’re not just cleaning up, you’re helping that same cardboard start a new adventure.
Who knows? Maybe your old Amazon box will come back as the next cereal box on your breakfast table.
If you have more questions or would like to explore how to transition from plastic packaging to a fully recyclable solution, we’d love to help. Based in California, Pacific Forest has been proudly manufacturing sustainable, recyclable packaging for over 50 years. Let’s create something great together. Contact us here.