Cardboard Overview

The use of cardboard balers, trash compactors, waste containers varies from industry to industry. Usually, companies either throw cardboard, plastic, aluminum cans, etc. into a waste dumpster or pay to have the waste disposed. Whether the cardboard use is small or large, savings can be obtained because cardboard is a valuable recyclable material. Some trash recycling companies (recyclers) buy baled and compacted cardboard; others accept loose cardboard that is stored in a cardboard dumpster. In any event, recycling of cardboard reduces disposal costs, and is a potential source of income for your company.

When trying to identify savings on the cardboard, we seek to: Determine the amount of cardboard generated Find ways to reduce the generation of cardboard Find a company which buys used cardboard for an attractive price.

Typical Cardboard Prices

The price paid for baled cardboard ranges from $20 per ton to $100+ per ton which typically includes the pickup fee. In Febraury 2001, the price had dropped to a low of about $20 per ton in the Dayton, Ohio region. A local waste disposal company estimates that loose cardboard weighs about 75 lbs per cubic yard. Based on quotes from bailer vendors, you could purchase a new low-volume bailer for about $10,000 to 15,000 or buy a re-conditioned, refurbished, like-new baler for $8,000 or less.

Cardboard Recycling Equipment / Cardboard Baling Equipment Manufacturers New Cardboard Bailer / Used Cardboard Baler Equipment Companies

Baler - Industrial Directory lists baler and compactor manufacturers. Vertical Balers, Trash Compactors, Recycling Balers, Drum Crushers, Can Crushers, and other waste handling equipment companies.

Chicago Compactors - sells a wide range of cardboard baling systems and products.

Industrial Website - online web directory showing baler and compactor manufacturing companies.

Recycling Equipment Directory - shows recycling equipment companies in North America.

Supplies Industrial Directory - industrial manufacturers directory listing American Baler companies

Trash Compactors - one of the largest and well know trash compactor websites. Buy a trash compactor today!

Waste Management Company - offers waste management equipment compactors, balers, cardboard reduction equip.

Cardboard Recyclers

Pallets and Cardboard: R.V. Paper Co., Franklin, OH, 800-468-3276 Pallets and Cardboard: National Pallet and Container, Riverside, OH, 937-237-1643 Cardboard Bailer: Cegco Enterprises, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, 513-563-8400 Cardboard: S.T. Recycling, Franklin, OH, 937-746-5471 Cardboard: Recycled Fibers of Ohio, Dayton, OH, 937-298-9969 Cardboard: Montgomery Paper Company, Dayton, OH, 937-222-4059

Example Recommendations

AR 3: Recycle Pallets and Cardboard

Annual Savings Project Cost Simple Payback Resource CO2(lb) Dollars Trash Disposal     $1,976     Pallet sales 300 pallets   $450     Cardboard Recycling 25 tons   $500 $5,000   Net     $2,926 $5,000 20 months

Analysis

Currently, all cardboard boxes, cardboard containers and wood pallets are broken up and disposed of. These are valuable materials that can be reused or recycled. They can be an important revenue source.

Recommendation

We recommend recycling pallets and cardboard. There are companies that will purchase used pallets and pick them up from the facility to be reused or recycled. For cardboard recycling purposes, we recommend purchasing a cardboard baler and selling the baled cardboard to a recycling company. Recycling pallets and cardboard would reduce your trash disposal costs by about 65-80% and generate revenues by a minimum $20 per ton for cardboard and $1.50 per pallet.

Estimated Savings for reducing cardboard and wood pallets

According to management, the trash is disposed of in a 42-cubic yard compactor. Management also estimates that cardboard and pallet waste makes up about 2/3 of the total trash volume. According to the waste billing data, the current annual cost of trash disposal, about $2,964. Therefore, the estimated savings in trash disposal would be about: 2/3 x $2,964 /yr = $1,976 /yr

Estimated Revenues

Pallet Recycling

Management estimates that 300 pallets are trashed per year. There are various companies within the area that pick up and purchase wood pallets. They will pay about $1.50 per pallet for standard GMA 48" x 40" size pallets depending on the condition. This cost includes pick up. Thus, the revenue generated by selling the pallets would be about: 300 pallets/yr x $1.50 /pallet = $450 /yr

Cardboard Recycling - including cardboard boxes and cardboard containers

Management estimates that cardboard makes up half of the 42-cubic yards in the compactor per haul and is hauled every 5 weeks. A local waste disposal company estimates that loose cardboard weighs about 75 lbs per cubic yard. Assuming that loose cardboard is compacted to 1/3 of its volume, compacted cardboard would weigh about 225 lbs per cubic yard. Therefore, the amount of cardboard trashed by your facility is about: 21 yd3/haul x 225 lb/yd3 x 1 haul / 5 wks x 52 wks/yr x 1 ton / 2,000 lbs = 25 tons/yr

The average market price paid by local recyclers is about $20 per ton baled (this is the lowest price in recent years), including pick up. Thus, the estimated revenues from baling and recycling your cardboard would be about: 25 tons/yr x $20 /ton = $500 /yr

Total Savings and Revenues $1,976 /yr +$450 /yr + $500 /yr = $2,926 /yr

Estimated Implementation Cost Based on quotes from bailer vendors, you could purchase a new low-volume bailer for about $10,000 - $12,000 or a re-conditioned, reburbished like-new cardboard baler for $7,000 or less. Since the plant uses labor to breakdown cardboard and pallets, we assume that the labor required to operate the baler would take the same amount of time.

Estimated Simple Payback $5,000 / $2,926 /yr x 12 mo/yr = 20 months

Cardboard Bailer Equipment Co. / Cardboard Box Reduction Equip Companies

Baler - Industrial Directory lists baler and compactor manufacturers. Vertical Balers, Trash Compactors, Recycling Balers, Drum Crushers, Can Crushers, and other waste handling equipment companies.

Chicago Compactors - sells a wide range of cardboard baling systems and products.

Industrial Website - online web directory showing baler and compactor manufacturing companies.

Recycling Equipment Directory - shows recycling equipment companies in North America.

Supplies Industrial Directory - industrial manufacturers directory listing American Baler companies

Trash Compactors - one of the largest and well know trash compactor websites. Buy a trash compactor today!

Waste Management Company - offers waste management equipment compactors, balers, cardboard reduction equip.

Contacts Pallets: Spartan Supply Co, Inc., Lebanon, OH, 513-932-6954 Pallets and Cardboard: R.V. Paper Co., Franklin, OH, 800-468-3276 Pallets and Cardboard: National Pallet and Container, Riverside, OH, 937-237-1643 Bailer: Cegco Enterprises, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, 513-563-8400 Cardboard: S.T. Recycling, Franklin, OH, 937-746-5471 Cardboard: Recycled Fibers of Ohio, Dayton, OH, 937-298-9969 Cardboard: Montgomery Paper Company, Dayton, OH, 937-222-4059

AR 4404: Sell Cardboard

Annual Savings Project Cost Simple Payback Resource CO2 (lb.) Dollars Waste Card Board 30 tons   $1,950 - Immediate

Analysis and Recommendation

Your facility disposes about two 8-yd3 dumpsters per week of cardboard at a cost of about $750 per year. Cardboard is a valuable material and can be sold. We recommend selling loose cardboard to a recycler.

Estimated Savings

Management estimates that loose cardboard fills about two 8-cubic yard containers per week. A local waste disposal company estimates that loose cardboard weighs about 75 lb per cubic yard. Therefore, the amount of cardboard generated at your facility is about:

75 lb/yd3 x 8 yd3/dumpster x 2 dumpsters/week x 50 weeks/year = 60,000 lb/yr

60,000 lb/yr x 1 ton / 2000 lb = 30 tons/yr

The waste disposal company also estimates that loose cardboard could be sold at about $40 per ton with free pickup. Therefore, we estimate that you can sell cardboard wastes for about:

$40 /ton x 30 ton/yr = $1,200 /yr

The total savings would be about:

$750 /yr + $1,200 /yr = $1,950 /yr

Estimated Implementation Cost None.

Estimated Simple Payback Immediate

AR 4054: Recycle Scrap Fiberboard

Annual Savings Project Cost Simple Payback   Resource CO2(lb) Dollars Disposal 671 tons $24,147 Recycling 671tons $3,354 Net $27,501 $6,000 3 months

Analysis and Recommendation

On two product lines, fiberboard is die-cut into shapes, which are components for finished assemblies. A large amount of scrap is generated in these processes. Currently, fiberboard is disposed of with regular trash. This appears to be the main component of your trash stream. We recommend you recycle this fiberboard scrap. This will provide revenue from the waste stream, and reduce the volume of trash, decreasing your disposal costs.

Estimated Savings

Plant personnel report that the full 42 cubic yard dumpster is hauled away twice weekly. The disposal company estimates that they charge about, $36 per ton for trash disposal. Die-cutting operators estimate that the 2.5 cubic yard tipper receptacles are emptied 3 times per day.

A stack of new material is labeled as 1,296 pounds, with 375 sheets of 26 inch by 60 by about 3/16-inch material. Thus, density of the material is about:

375 sheets x 0.188 in/sheet x 20 in x 60 in / 1,728 in3/ft3 = 49 ft3

1,296 lb / 49 ft3 = 26.5 lb/ft3

We estimate the tipper receptacles are filled to about 50% density. The volume and weight of un-compacted fiberboard material generated per day is about:

2.5 yd3/ tipper x 2 tippers x 27 ft3/yd3 x 3 /dy = 405 ft3/dy

405 ft3/dy x 26.5 lb/ft3 x 50% = 5,366 lb/dy

This material gets compacted prior to disposal. Plant personnel estimate that the 42 cubic yard dumpster is emptied 2 times per week. Assuming that compacted density is 80% of new product density, the disposal volume attributed to scrap fiberboard is about:

5,366 lb/dy x 5 dy/wk / (26.5 lb/ft3 x 80%) / 27 ft3/yd3 = 46 yd3/wk

Thus, since the 42 cubic yard dumpster is emptied twice per week, scrap fiberboard represents more than half the total disposal volume and cost. Separating the fiberboard would roughly cut disposal costs in half, and provide income from recycling. The annual cost savings by removing fiberboard from the waste stream would be about:

5,366 lb/dy x 5 dy/wk x 50 wk/yr x $36 /ton / 2000 lb/ton = $24,147 /yr If scrap fiberboard material has a recycled value of $5 per ton (corrugated cardboard is $40 per ton or higher by comparison), the quantity of material and revenue from recycling would be about:

5,366 lb/dy x 5 dy/wk x 50 wk/yr / 2000 lb/ton = 671 tons/yr 671 tons/yr $5 /ton = $3,354 /yr

Estimated Implementation Cost

A bailer that produces 6-foot cubic cardboard bales / plastic bales would cost about $10,000 - $15,000 new, or you could purchase a used unit for about $8,000.

A recycling company like Montgomery Paper (937-222-4059), or a material broker like Steven M. Grossman, Inc. (614-899-6759) or Transtech, Inc. (973-884-1633) can help you evaluate this opportunity. A broker brings together companies who want to purchase materials with companies who generate recyclable wastes. The type and quantity of waste generated are information a broker would use to evaluate these opportunities. We spoke to representatives of these companies. They all asked for a sample of the fiberboard, and expressed interest in recycling this material.

Simple Payback $6,000 / ($24,147 + $3,354) /yr x 12 mo/yr = 3 months

AR 3254: Separate And Recycle Cardboard

Annual Savings Project Cost Simple Payback Resource CO2(lb) Dollars Waste disposal 80%   $8,000     Cardboard sales 72 tons   $3,240     Labor -100 hours   -$3,000     Net     $8,240 $6,000 9 months

Analysis

Many suppliers ship materials to the facility in corrugated boxes. Currently, this cardboard is mixed with office trash and picked by a waste disposal company.

Recommendation

We recommend separating the corrugated board from office trash and baling it in a compactor or baler. Management estimates that this would reduce the trash disposal costs by about 80%. It would also generate revenues of about $45 per ton.

Horizontal baler Vertical baler

Estimated Savings

Management estimated that about 3 tons of cardboard are disposed of twice per month. If so, the annual quantity of cardboard disposed of is about:

Mixed Cardboard

The present revenue generated from mixed scrap cradboard is around....

$20/ton x 35 tons/week x 52 weeks = $35,000 $$$$ Cost Savings

Cardboard recycling companies pay about $45 per baled ton of corrugated cardboard. If the cardboard were separated and baled, the annual revenue generated by selling the cardboard would be about:

$35/ton x 35/tons x 52 weeks = $61,000 $$$$ Cost Savings

SBS Cardboard The present revenue generated from SBS cardboard is around....

$180/ton x 5/tons x 52 weeks = $45,000/year $$$$ Cost Savings

Management reported that last year they paid about $10,000 for cardboard and office trash disposal and that about 80% of this was cardboard. Separating the cardboard would result in reducing the number of pick-ups and volume of waste. If the cardboard were separated from the office trash, the trash disposal savings would be about:

$10,000 /year x 80 % = $8,000 /year

We estimate that baling the cardboard would take about 2 hours per week. If the workers earned $30 per hour, the annual labor cost would be about:

2 hr/wk x 50 wk/yr x $30/hr = $3,000 /yr

The net savings from recycling cardboard would be about:

($3,240 + $8,000 - $3,000) /year = $8,240 /year

Estimated Implementation Cost

We estimate that you can purchase a small-volume baler for about $10,000. However, there are re-conditioned balers in the open market for less than $8,000. We conservatively assume the implementation cost is $10,000.

Estimated Simple Payback

Baler News Source: http://www.engr.udayton.edu/udiac/Documents/Cardboard.doc