Recycling is the process of converting waste into reusable materials and has had a significant impact on how society has looked to increase sustainability within their lifestyle. There are a range of misconceptions about recycling cardboard that we’re going to address in today’s article.
Is Recycling Cardboard Free?
It’s important to understand that certain recycling materials will cost you money to get processed. This is because it takes time and labour costs to appropriately process certain items and materials. However, this isn’t to say that all recyclables cost you money to dispose of. In fact, plenty of regular household items could be free to recycle.
Free-to-recycle items include:
- Glass bottles
- Plastic bottles
- Aluminium cans
- Car batteries
- Household paint cans,
- BQ gas bottles
- Scrap metal
- Fluorescent tubes
- E-waste items such as TVs and computers
What Shouldn’t I Recycle?
When you prepare your cardboard for drop-off at a centre, you need to make sure that the load has been completely cleared of non-recyclable items and materials. This means that you need to make sure that the plastic wrapping has been removed, any boxes have been emptied of polystyrene foam, and that any tape has been torn off from cardboard or paper.
If your waste hasn’t been sorted by the time you reach our a recycling centre, an additional charge will incur. This is because the process of sorting will be given to our team, who are paid for their labour. So to avoid this cost, make sure that your recycling is completely clear of non-recyclables before you pay us a visit. And don’t try to sneak in anything that doesn’t belong – trust us, we’ve seen it all!
-
- Please remove all trash from your cardboard boxes.
-
- Please remove all packaging from all of your boxes.
-
- Please collapse all of your boxes.
The Importance of Responsible Recycling
The reason we make an effort to inform you about responsible recycling practises is because the consequences of irresponsible recycling can be quite severe. If you fail to properly separate your cardboard from non-recyclable waste when disposing of it at our centre, then you run the risk of having inappropriate materials finding their way into our processing machinery. This can result in damages to the machinery and potential health and safety risks to our workers. Therefore, separating and/or declaring what’s in your load is an essential part of the process.
