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Cardboard & Paper Collection

Dedicated bins for cardboard boxes, office paper, and newspapers. Must be clean and dry—wet or food-stained cardboard goes in general waste. Separating cardboard typically costs half what general waste does.

Common for:

Retailers receiving stock in boxes, warehouses, e-commerce fulfilment centres, offices with high paper use. If you're breaking down more than a few boxes a day, a separate cardboard bin pays for itself.

What goes in cardboard recycling

Clean, dry cardboard and paper products. Cardboard boxes (flattened), office paper, newspapers, magazines, paper packaging, and paper bags. Small amounts of tape and staples are fine—they're removed during processing.

What can't go in: wet or food-stained cardboard (pizza boxes with grease, soggy boxes), waxed cardboard (some fruit boxes), paper with plastic coating (coffee cups), shredded paper in loose form (bag it first), or anything contaminated with food waste.

Flatten your boxes. A flattened box takes up roughly 10% of the space of an assembled one. This dramatically increases how much you can fit in each bin and may let you use a smaller size.

Which size for your business

Cardboard volume depends on how much stock you receive. A retail store breaking down 20-30 boxes a week typically fills a 660L bin. High-turnover retail or e-commerce fulfilment centres often need front-lift containers. Offices primarily generate paper—a 240L bin usually suffices unless you're doing major clean-outs.