A Beginners Guide to Commercial Cardboard Waste Recycling

Recycling cardboard at a commercial premises is often much harder than at home in the UK. Common challenges for businesses premises include larger waste volumes, limited storage space and rising overheads. Sadly, many premises don't recycle efficiently because they're unaware of the various cardboard recycling aids available to them..

This informative guide will give you the lowdown on cost-effective commercial cardboard waste recycling. We’ll cover everything from how you can responsibly dispose of your waste at work to how the purchase or rental of a cardboard recycling equipment can streamline your procedures for disposing of waste.

What Is Cardboard Waste?

Cardboard that has fulfilled its original purpose is classed as cardboard waste. It can be categorised into two main types that are both recyclable:

• Corrugated Cardboard: A strong, thick type of cardboard made of three or more paper layers predominantly used to protect goods.  When you tear a corrugated cardboard box, you'll see its formed of several layers of paper with an inner rippled layer all stuck together to form a thick type of cardboard.
• Paperboard: Made from a single layer of thick paper. It's a much thinner than corrugated cardboard and is typically used as packaging for goods sold directly to customers. Examples include cereal boxes and shoe boxes.

What is OCC?

OCC is the recycling industry acronym for Old Corrugated Cardboard (sometimes also known as Old Corrugated Containers).  This specific type of waste cardboard is strong because it has an inner rippled central core sandwiched between two flat layers of material. Common types of OCC are single wall, double wall and triple wall boxes used for to protect products in transport and storage. The value of OCC typically ranges from £40 to £100 per metric tonne in the UK, but these are commodity prices that are heavily influenced by global supply and demand.

Why should I recycle cardboard at work?

1.  Maximise Cardboard Rebate Potential: Cardboard baler suppliers, like QCR, can help workplaces to get the maximum value for their cardboard recycling. The income potential from selling your bales is influenced by many factors include bale quantity, bale size, material quality and industry demand. 
2. Compliance with Recycling Legislation: The specific laws known as "Simpler Recycling" forces most businesses in England to separate cardboard from residual (non-recyclable) waste and food waste. Whilst micro-firms (workplaces with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees) are currently exempt, they'll need to comply from 1st April 2027. Businesses in Wales have their own set of cardboard recycling laws to follow which went live from 6th April 2024. 
3. Supports the Circular Economy: Recycling OCC at work helps your workplace support the circular economy by ensuring your commercial cardboard waste has been disposed of in a way that maximises its chance of being processed into new materials.

Common Recycling Challenges for Workplaces

• No space for cardboard bins: Small business premises make it hard to find sufficient space for big bins or skips needed for cardboard disposal. This may lead to the business paying for more frequent cardboard waste pickups that adds to bills.
• Rising recycling costs: Inflation, rising wages and stricter recycling policies such as EPR have driven up the cost of running cardboard recycling services in the UK. These rising costs are being passed onto workplaces in the form of bigger invoices for cardboard recycling bins.
• Staff Engagement: Members of staff may not understand the benefit of using cardboard compactors to keep recycling overheads low whilst still complying with UK legislation.

How Can I Dispose of Commercial Cardboard Waste?

As a business, there are typically three primary methods for disposing of cardboard waste:

• Recycle It: Waste cardboard can be collected from your premises by a registered waste carrier ahead of transportation to a central recycling facility. Cardboard Balers are a popular way used by businesses to compact waste cardboard ahead of collection as an alternative to the traditional wheeled bin.
• Reuse It: Clean waste cardboard can be repurposed into packing materials. By buying or hiring a heavy-duty cardboard shredder, a business can turn their cardboard boxes into packaging materials for use in their post room or order packing departments. This solution is popular with online retailers as it is often cheaper to produce your own packaging than buy it from a supplier (even when factoring in the cost of the shredding machine itself).
• Landfill: Cardboard that cannot be recycled or reused because it’s contaminated has to go to landfill. This is often the costliest disposal method for businesses due to Landfill Tax however, the collection costs can be minimised if it is compacted first using a Bin Compactor. 

What Equipment Can Aid Cardboard Recycling at Work?

• Cardboard Balers: Compact loose material into a densified format known as a bale secured by banding or wires.
• Cardboard Shredders: Instantly repurpose your waste cardboard into a versatile material for use in packaging.
• 1100L Bin Compactors: Hydraulically crush waste deposited in bins to reduce overall volume.

What Types of Cardboard Waste Can’t Be Recycled?

Almost any kind of clean, dry cardboard can be recycled, but there are a few exceptions to keep in mind:

• Soiled Cardboard: Waste must be pre-sorted at your premises to remove material contaminated with food, grease or paint etc.
• Waxed Cardboard: Cardboard or paper lined in polyethene to add water-resistant properties is known as waxed card or paper. Unfortunately, this layer of plastic is considered a contaminant. Similarly, any paper-based materials covered with glitter, fabrics or metallic sequins cannot be recycled.

UK Cardboard Recycling History Since 2024

Data from the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) and PackFlow shows that in 2024,  4069 thousand tonnes of cardboard and paper packaging waste was recycled in the UK compared to 5479 tonnes of material arising which equates to an overall recycling rate of just over 74%.  Data from NPWD also shows that cardboard and paper materials are by far the most commonly recycled forms of packaging waste accounting for almost 50% of the total materials recycled in the UK. The amount of cardboard recycled in the UK is predicted to rise in March 2027 due to the wider rollout of the Simpler Recycling legislation to micro-firms.

Final Thoughts

As UK business bin collection charges continue to rise, it's important that commercial premises stay informed and proactive. By understanding the many ways that cardboard can be crushed, businesses can fulfil their legal obligations without breaking the bank.

For a convenient, compliant and eco-conscious way to recycle cardboard, contact QCR. At QCR, we've proven it's more sustainable to bale or shred your cardboard waste on your premises vs. disposing of it in traditional bins. Why? Because uncompacted cardboard waste fills bins quickly. More bins mean more frequent collections which results more lorries on the road (and a bigger disposal costs for your business).

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Written by Neil Holland. Updated on 30/07/26

Contributor at QCR, specialising in cardboard balers, baler hire, servicing and operational efficiency. Neil shares practical insights to help businesses across the UK improve waste management practices.