Facts About Cardboard

Types:

• Corrugated cardboard is very popular and used to make boxes for shipping. It is comprised of corrugated fiber paper sandwiched by sturdy sheets of cardboard. Once this cardboard has been deposited into a trash or recycling bin, it is referred to in the industry as old corrugated cardboard, or OCC.
• Paperboard (also called boxboard or chipboard) is flat, stiff, and often coated to give a glossy appearance. It is used for items such as cereal boxes, beverage cartons, shoeboxes and tissue boxes. Paperboard is not cardboard, but the people often confuse the two.

Facts About Cardboard:

• Cardboard is used to ship 90 percent of all products in the U.S.
• Most of cardboard waste comes from big companies like department stores and supermarkets because they are constantly shipping products.
• Recycled cardboard only takes 75 percent of the energy needed to make new cardboard and lessens the emission of sulfur dioxide that is produced when making pulp from wood trees.
• Recycling one ton of cardboard saves nine cubic yards of landfill space and 46 gallons of oil.
• Cardboard is safe to dispose of, as it has no toxic constituents and is biodegradable.
• The recovery rate of OCC was 76.4 percent in 2006.