Selling used cardboard boxes

Barbara Fischer, Australia/Moment/Getty Images

One way for cardboard recyclers and other businesses to increase revenue from old corrugated containers (OCC) is to sell them for reuse rather than simply baling for recycling. Marty Metro, CEO of offers these five tips on what types of businesses and container types present the best fit for this strategy:

1. Major manufacturing plants. Manufacturers of high volume items empty a lot of the same sized boxes, so implementing a reuse program can pay off quickly.

1. When boxes are big. Large boxes such as gaylords are more valuable than small ones.
2. When boxes are made in the USA. Foreign boxes, Marty says, often hold less value due to lesser quality.
3. When a business generates a high volume of the same size. Too much variety, on the other hand, makes it harder it is to implement a box reuse program due to the amount of time, effort and space required to sort, segregate and store boxes.

1. When located in a metropolitan area. Manufacturers located in or near major metropolitan cities are good candidates because the likelihood of finding a buyer in the area is high.

• Small White cardboard boxes
• Coloured cardboard boxes
• Single cardboard boxes
• Selling cardboard boxes