Gaylord recycling: when a box becomes OCC

OCC stands for old corrugated containers, the recycling grade a box becomes when it can no longer be reused. US corrugated boxes had a recycling rate of 96.5 percent in 2018, so the fiber in a worn-out gaylord has a good chance of coming back as new board. Sort yours first, because a box that can still carry a load is worth more than its fiber.

Reuse or recycle

What to put on the request

• how many boxes, flat or assembled
• what they held, and whether there is residue
• where they sit and how long they have been there
• the pickup ZIP and anything that limits access, such as a dock height

The local guides

For Twin Cities plants, bulk cardboard recycling has its own page, and Grade C gaylords as collection bins is a good use of a box on its last trips.

Why reuse comes first

A gaylord that still stands is worth more as a box than as paper. Recycling turns the board into fibre, and the box is gone. The order we suggest is simple: first, ask whether the box is a Grade A, B or C; second, if it is none of those, ask whether it can be a bin or a base; third, if it can be neither, recycle it. The grading page helps with the first question.

What recycling does not cover

Recycling here means paper. A box with plastic, foam, metal or liquid residue goes to a different stream, or to a hauler. If the box carried anything regulated, tell us first.

Sending a recycling request

A request for recycling, whether for ten boxes or a trailer, needs the same four things as any other: how many boxes, where they are, whether they are dry and whether a truck can reach them. Add a photo if you can. Sorting loose paper from board before pickup helps.

A winter note on cardboard

Minnesota winters change what recycling looks like. Board left in an unheated bay takes on frost and then moisture, and a stack of flat gaylords that looked dry in November can be heavy and soft by March. If your empties wait for pickup, keep them off the floor, under cover and away from the dock door, where cold air blows through every time it opens. A pallet under the stack and a tarp or a covered bay costs little and keeps the board saleable.

Three loads, three answers

• A pallet of clean, dry, flat boxes from one plant is OCC at its best, and may be worth selling as boxes first.
• A mixed load with liners, strapping and a few wet boxes is recycling only after it has been sorted, and the sorting is the work.
• A pile of crushed boxes left outside for a season is recycling at best, and sometimes a disposal question; photograph it before you ask.

Whichever is yours, the request is the same short list: how many boxes, where they are, whether they are dry, and how a truck reaches them.

What happens to the boxes that come out as OCC

Old corrugated containers are baled and sold to paper mills, which pulp them and make new board. A bale of clean board sells for more than a bale of mixed or wet board, and the buyer inspects before paying. That is why separating at the source, keeping it dry and removing foreign materials matter. A stack of flat gaylords is also an easy bale: it compresses neatly and carries little air. A recycling request should say whether the plant has a baler, covered storage, truck access and a forklift.

Questions a recycler asks you

How much is there, and is it flat or standing? How long has it been outside? Is there anything in or on it besides board, such as straps, tape, foam, plastic or a liner? Is there truck access to it, and is there a forklift? Answers to those five are most of what a recycler needs. Put them in the request if you can. If you cannot, say what you do know.

Dry, flat, sorted

Three words sum up what makes recycling work: dry, flat and sorted. Dry keeps the weight down and the fibre usable. Flat saves space in the truck. Sorted keeps the wrong materials out of the bale. If your boxes meet all three, the request is short to write; if they meet one, the request should say which.

Why liners and tape matter to a bale

Polyethylene liners, strapping, stretch film and heavy tape are the commonest contaminants in a stack of old gaylords. A buyer of old corrugated containers grades a load by how little of that it holds, so pulling a liner out costs a minute and can change how the load is classed. The same is true of staples and metal bands. A stack that arrives flat, dry and clean of foreign material is worth handling carefully on the way out.

Recycling is the last use, not the first

The strongest reason to think about recycling early is that a box that is dry and intact today may not be in a month. Boxes that sit outside through a thaw lose most of their value. If you know a pile will not move soon, covering it or bringing it inside is worth the effort.

Bales are usually priced by grade of fibre, so a clean, single-material load is the easiest to place.

Moisture is the enemy of every recycling step, so keep the pile off the ground.

Mixed loads of paper and board are normally separated before sale.

Questions, answered