My business produces a lot of cardboard - can I get paid for my cardboard waste?

The short answer to this is YES.  However, there are some caveats.  In order to be paid, or you might hear gain a rebate, for your waste cardboard you need to be producing it in bulk and to gain best rates you need to be producing good mill sized bales.

What is a mill size bale?

A mill size bale is a bale of cardboard that is fit for transport to a cardboard recycling mill either in the UK or for export.  There are strict sizing and weight requirements.  Bales must be 100cm H x 120cm W x 80cm D and weigh a minimum of 400kg each.  This makes sure that when they are loaded onto the lorry or into the shipping container that there is optimum load weight.  They must also be wire tied rather than with tape or string.

How do I produce a mill size bale?

To produce a mill size bale you need a baler.  There are many different types of machine on the market but essentially they are either vertical or horizontal.  Only the largest producers will tend to use a horizontal baler because they represent fairly significant capital investment so the majority of companies will have a vertical baler.

That sounds easy – why isn’t everyone baling their cardboard?

It is easy but there are reasons that it might not suit your business.  Firstly you need to train members of staff to use the baler safely and efficiently.  Baling can be laborious as you have to hand feed the machine and make sure that the cardboard is the right size for the aperture.  It takes A LOT of cardboard to create just one bale.  Some companies producing larger quantities of cardboard will have dedicated staff members just to produce bales of card so this needs to be considered when working out your costs.  Secondly you need space to store the bales that you produce and ideally this should be under cover so that you don’t get penalised for high moisture content if they get rained on.  For some businesses they prefer to forgo the rebate and just pay a lower rate to have their cardboard collected loose because it is more convenient for them.

Do I have to pay to have my cardboard bales collected?

This depends on your supplier who may charge transport and then give you a higher rebate or they may absorb the transport cost but give you a lower rebate.  We like to be as transparent as possible and prefer to charge transport and pay you the going rate for your cardboard.

How much will I be paid or rebated for my cardboard bales?

Rebates are variable and relate to the global commodity market.  It also depends on whether your supplier is charging transport or not and how much you are having collected at any one time.  To gain the highest prices for your bales you need to store up a full 20-26 tonne load which will be around 40 bales.  Over the last 12 months we have seen rebates between £50 and £140 per tonne so it does vary a lot! 

Can I still be paid for my cardboard if I don’t want to or can’t bale it?

Yes, you can still be paid if you are producing good quality flat packed cardboard but you won’t get paid the highest rates

I have a baler but the bales are not ‘mill size’.  Can I still get a rebate?

Absolutely!  However you won’t receive top of the market rebates or credits for your bales because they will need to be cut open and rebaled to make a mill size bale suitable for sending to the cardboard recycling mill.  However, smaller balers can be a good solution for companies trying to optimise space and producing smaller quantities of cardboard.

What is contamination?

Cardboard bales must only be cardboard.  If you mix in other waste with your cardboard such as plastic or food then it will contaminate the bale.  This means you will not receive the optimum rebate and may even have to pay to have your bales disposed of because your supplier will need to break open the bales and resort the waste before rebaling them for sale.

That all sounds good.  How do I start baling my cardboard?

Get in touch with our team on 01582 572525 or get a quote here

We would love to help!