Benefits of Recycling Card

Despite the fibres in cardboard becoming shorter each time they are recycled, card can be recycled four or five times.

An obvious use for recycled card is to make more carboard boxes and packaging, along with other applications such as animal bedding, office supplies and even biodegradeable coffins. Cardboard also makes excellent compost.

Why Is Cardboard Recycling Important?

The market for recycling card within the UK can be drastically improved. In 2004 recycled paper and cardboard provided about 74% of the source materials for the 6.2million tonnes of paper manufactured in the UK. However, a further 7.7 million tonnes were imported.

Recycling paper and cardboard, uses up to 70% less energy then the virgin processes and are using less water. This is because most of the energy used in papermaking is the pulping needed to turn wood into paper, this is immediately taken out of the system as the input changes to waste paper and cardboard, and no longer wood.

Paper is a biodegradable material and as such people don't automatically link waste paper and cardboard to environmental problems. However, being biodegradable means that when it goes to landfill it rots, producing methane. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and it therefore an indirect catalyst to global warming.

In 2003/04, paper and cardboard accounted for over a quarter of all household waste collected in England. This equates to 2.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard ending up in landfill sites every year.

Alarmingly in the UK alone over six million tonnes of paper and cardboard is being used only once despite the capacity for paper recycling. This is partly due to 40% of the UK population openly admitting that they never recycle anything.

In the future it is highly likely that the landfill tax may be extended to include paper and cardboard, to act as an incentive to recycle more paper and cardboard.

We at ASH are able to offer a dedicated recycling collection service at a reduced rate to any general waste container you may have. For more information and prices, please click ‘Quote Me’ and one of our experienced team will contact you to discuss your requirements.