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Cardboard is a material that is made up of layers of paper and, for this, virgin fiber or recycled paper is used. It is a thicker than paper, hard and resistant material that is used mainly to package products. Taking into account the amount of products that are generated, much cardboard is used and as a consequence large amounts of waste are obtained from it. Fortunately, this material can be recycled or reused in many different ways, thus reducing the exploitation of raw materials.
If you want to know more about cardboard recycling, continue reading this interesting Green Ecologist article in which we talk about how to recycle cardboard.
How to recycle cardboard at home
For recycle cardboard you have to know when we can deposit it and where to deposit it. Also, sometimes, before looking for the option to recycle, we can reuse it by transforming the waste into a new useful object or use it to make crafts.
What cardboard is recycled
We can recycle the cardboard of the boxes that contain products, the toilet paper, the egg cartons, etc., although it is convenient to remove all those adhesive labels that they may contain or any staples. Another thing to keep in mind when we are going to recycle cardboard is that cardboard that has traces of organic matter cannot be recycled, for example, pizza boxes that are stained with grease or oil, since this alters the recycling process, leaving the contaminated material and not usable in this way.
Therefore, it is very necessary and easy separate recyclable cardboard at home to later take it to the appropriate container, as well as decide which pieces of cardboard can be reused with crafts or giving them other uses.
What is the container of the carton
It is very important to know where the cardboard is recycled to facilitate the process of recovering this material and giving it more life, without wasting it. The container to recycle the cardboard is the blue, so in this container the cartons can be deposited as long as they are free of organic remains.
Learn more about What is recycled in the blue container with this other article.
How to recycle egg cartons
The egg cartons must be placed in the blue container, but how can the egg carton be reused or recycled at home?
- For plant lovers we bring you a fantastic idea, use egg cartons as seedbeds or germinators, because in them the seeds can germinate that later will be transplanted to a pot. Here you can learn about How to make a seedbed.
- Egg cups are also very useful for cardboard crafts, since with them we can make bird feeders or precious lamps for our house.
- They are perfect materials for soundproof spacesSurely you have ever seen these cardboard on the walls of a room to isolate noise, since the shape it has absorbs sound waves.
How to recycle toilet paper cardboard
This cardboard, also like the previous one, is deposited in the blue container. There are many ideas to recycle cardboard with crafts, some examples are:
- Binoculars for the little ones: we only need two rolls of paper, a little imagination to decorate them and a rope to hang them around the neck.
- Frames to place the photos: there are also ideas for fans of photography, because you can make beautiful photo frames in very different ways and then paint them to taste.
- Bowling - can be decorated with paints and then stacked for bowling with whatever ball the kids have.
- Jars for pencils: you can also make jars to put pencils and pens on the desk, it is only necessary to decorate them a little to our liking and put another piece of cardboard glued with glue or white glue as a base.
How to recycle milk cartons
The milk cartons or cartons must be deposited in the cyellow holder, since they are not only made of cardboard, but also contain a thin layer of aluminum inside. We can perform different brick crafts for example:
- A purse.
- A pencil case.
- A drainer for cutlery.
- Some horizontal pots or planters or to hang.
- Insulate the walls of the rooms.
In addition to all these ideas that we have been discussing, here you can learn more Ideas for recycling cardboard tissue boxes. Among them you will see some ideas to decorate cardboard boxes or to line a cardboard box with fabric.
How cardboard is recycled
As mentioned above, the cardboard is deposited in the blue container, but then all the cardboard recycling process:
- It is thrown in the blue container.
- Later this material is collected and transported to an authorized manager, such as cardboard recycling companies.
- When the paper and cardboard waste is entered in the authorized manager, these are weighed and the date of entry, the CER code, the description, the origin and the carrier's data are recorded.
- Waste is stored depending on its origin in order to avoid mixing qualities.
- It goes through an automatic or manual classification process to eliminate impurities such as plastic, glass, sand or other types of materials.
- After sorting and impurities removed, the cardboard is shredded and cut to reduce size.
- Afterwards, the cardboard is pressed and wrapped to be sent to the factories where the cardboard recycling process will be carried out in the recycling plant.
In this places, the cardboard goes through several processes:
- Lamination of cardboard: chemical solvents are added to separate the paper fibers from the waste.
- Cardboard sieve: selection to eliminate all those residues that are not cardboard.
- Spinning and shredding: cardboard and paper residues are broken up with water until a uniform mass is obtained. Then it goes through a shredder and filters to get rid of the plastic, ink or metals that accompanied the waste.
- Classification of the resulting material: once free of polluting substances, the fiber generated is classified into short cellulose (newspaper) and long cellulose (cardboard or sheets)
Although only cardboard has been mentioned, the paper is also deposited in the blue container since the process that follows is similar to that of cardboard.
Benefits of recycling cardboard and its importance
Sometimes you need to wonder what is the importance of recycling cardboard in order to be aware of the benefits of this act that begins in our home. Between the benefits of cardboard recycling We find that, for example, when recycling a ton of cardboard:
- 50,000 liters of water are saved.
- 140 liters of oil are saved.
- 900 kilos of CO2 are no longer emitted.
- More space is left in the landfill to be occupied by other waste that cannot be recycled.
Therefore, it is better to recycle cardboard than to produce it from raw materials. If you want to learn more about Why recycling cardboard and paper is important, go here.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to recycle cardboard, we recommend that you enter our Recycling and waste management category.
