Cardboard Recycling for Cash: Money from Used Cardboards
Cardboard boxes are everywhere: shops, factories and even homes have at least one cardboard box lying somewhere. This is the reason why many people don’t pay much attention to them.Afterall, they’re just paper based packaging that’s meant to be disposed after their contents have been taken out.
But there’s money in cardboard boxes. In fact, they’re recycled for cash by many enterprising people.
Here are a few information regarding cardboard recycling for cash:
Note: This information was taken from my actual experience in recycling and selling cardboards.
Table of Contents:
1. How To Acquire Cardboards1.1 Shopping
1.2 From Suppliers
1.3 Shops
1.4 Dumpster Diving
2. Cardboards and E-Commerce
2.1 As Packaging
2.2 As Packaging Insulation
2.3 As Containers
3. Where to Sell Cardboards
3.1 Junk Shop
3.2 Recycling Centers
3.3 Online
3.4 Direct
4. Investing in a Baling Machine
5. Turning Cardboard Recycling Into a Business
6. The Cardboard Export Market
Final Words
The Details:
1. How To Acquire Cardboards
We encounter or see cardboard boxes almost every day of our lives. In fact, they’re so essential to commerce that many items we buy uses them. We acquire cardboard via:
1.1 Shopping:
Whenever we purchase a large item, it would surely come in a cardboard box, especially when we buy in bulk. For example, the appliances we buy are packaged in cardboard boxes. If we buy fruits in bulk, they’re likely to be packaged in cardboard boxes.
But this doesn’t end there. Used cardboard boxes are also used as packaging materials for the groceries we buy. For example, everytime we buy groceries that we use personally and for sale in our grocery store, our supermarket packages our bulk items in used cardboard boxes.
1.2 From Suppliers:
If you have a business, especially one in manufacturing or retailing, your suppliers usually package your bulk supplies in cardboard boxes.
1.3 Shops:
Shops usually have a lot of used cardboard boxes which are either used as packaging materials or are sold to used cardboard recyclers.
You can develop a business relationship with the shops in your territory such that they sell their used cardboards to you at a price which still allows you to make a decent profit off them.
1.4 Dumpster Diving
Since most people don’t usually think that used cardboard have worth, they usually just throw it together with their garbage. If you’re not fussy, you can source your used cardboards from recycling bins or even garbage bins.
For example, Australia has designated bins for paper waste. Imagine the amount of money a business can make by collecting these paper waste themselves instead of leaving them to the local municipality for recycling or disposal.
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2. Cardboards and E-Commerce
But why have used cardboard become very valuable almost seemingly all of a sudden? This is because of the popularity of e-commerce. All of a sudden, packaging surged in demand, including used cardboard boxes.
Since packaging and shipping are one of the biggest costs in e-commerce, a lot of online sellers try to save as much as they can by using cheap packaging materials like used cardboard boxes.
Cardboard boxes are used as:
2.1 As Packaging:
Used cardboard boxes are ideal packaging materials. Not only are they cheap, but often, they can be sourced for free. They’re sturdy too and don’t get torn easily.
The only downside with using used cardboard boxes as packaging materials is that if your client is fussy, they may think that you’re using inferior or cheap packaging. However, most buyers won’t mind as long as the product they buy from you is undamaged when delivered.
2.2 As Packaging Insulation:
Since cardboard is sturdy and not easily bended, they make ideal packaging insulation for products that are easily damaged or bended.
For example, paper sports cards and crisp notes are sandwiched between two pieces of cardboards to prevent them from being damaged: scratched, torn, and/or bended. Online resellers of such items are potential good clients for used cardboards.
2.3 As Containers:
Online resellers also use used cardboard boxes as containers to sort and store their products. Since used cardboard boxes are not really meant to be long lasting containers, online resellers frequently change the damaged ones.
This means that there would always be a constant demand from online sellers for used cardboard boxes.
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3. Where to Sell Cardboards
Cardboards are a very sellable product. Many people and businesses buy used cardboards. For example, people who are moving to a new place would definitely need used cardboard boxes to package their personal belongings.
3.1 Junk Shop:
Used cardboards are always bought by junk shops. Though not much of a feature in many western countries, junk shops are prevalent in developing and third world countries. However, junk shops are not known for paying top dollar for used cardboards.
To find junk shops in your area, you can use Google Search.
3.2 Recycling Centers:
They are much more common in developed countries rather than developing and third world countries. They are known for buying used cardboard boxes in bulk and pay more than junk shops.
To find junk shops in your area, you can use Google Search.
3.3 Online:
You can use such sites as eBay and Craigslist to list and sell your used cardboards. You can also use the popular online classified sites in your area or country.
3.4 Direct:
You can also directly approach businesses to see if they would buy your used cardboards. Good businesses to approach would be those involved in reselling such as wholesale shops.
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4. Investing in a Baling Machine
If you’re a manufacturer and always have a lot of surplus used boxes in your shop or factory, it might be a good idea to invest in a baling machine.
This is because there are used cardboard buyers who pay a premium if your used cardboard boxes have been baled. This is because used cardboard buyers won’t have the headache of baling and stacking loose used cardboards anymore.
Also, you can transport and deliver more used cardboard boxes if they are baled. This is because a baling machine compacts your used cardboard boxes, making them not only smaller in size but arranged as well.
A baling machine not only compacts cardboard. They can be used to compact and bale plastic bottles, paper, hay and other things. So, it’ll definitely organize and tidy up your shop or factory.
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5. Turning Cardboard Recycling Into a Business
At this stage, besides thinking of the money you save and/or earn by recycling your used cardboards, you might now be thinking of going into business full-time recycling cardboards.
But to make recycling cardboards a full-time business, you must be able to acquire a huge volume of used cardboards.
Chances are, the number used cardboard boxes you acquire from shopping, shops, suppliers and dumpster diving won’t be enough to give you a full-time income recycling cardboards.
At this stage, you would have to establish a junk shop or recycling center for used cardboards. You can buy cheaply the used cardboards being sold to you and then resell them at a higher price.
The business slogan: “Buy Low, Sell High” applies here. But before you start your cardboard buying and selling business, make sure you have enough sellers and buyers for your cardboards.
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6. The Cardboard Export Market
Is there a big market for used cardboards? The answer is a resounding: “Yes”. Used cardboards are still in such high demand that they are even exported.
Even China who has reduced importing used cardboards, still imports used but high quality cardboards.
Also, as e-commerce continues its fast rise, more and more online resellers would be using used cardboards. This especially applies to online resellers who are located in developing and poor countries.
In fact, the used cardboard market is worth USD 41.53 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 60.42 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 4.8%. Based from these figures, the demand for used cardboard would significantly increase over the years.
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Final Words
Many people don’t give much value to used cardboards. This is because they are so common and can often be had for free.
We can get them free or at a very cheap price from shops, suppliers, factories and even garbage bins. They are very abundant and often free if you know where to source them.
But the demand for used cardboards is growing fast due to the rise of e-commerce. Online sellers use them as packaging, packaging insulations and containers for their products. Online sellers have a constant need for used cardboards.
You can even make recycling used cardboards into a full-time business. But you need to be both a buyer and seller of used cardboards in order to make it a full-time living.
The demand for used cardboards is high enough that they are even exported into other countries like China. Who knows, your cardboard recycling business could grow big enough one day that you even export them.
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