Cardboard Recycling

Let’s talk cardboard Appomattox. Your landfill has cardboard recycling containers at most of the residential convenience sites throughout our County which makes recycling easy. There are 8 locations that have cardboard recycling containers. Your convenience sites for recycling cardboard are located on Stonewall Rd., Reedy Spring Rd., the Triangle Plaza which is off of Old Courthouse Rd., Link Rd. off of Promise Land Rd., the corner of Oakville Rd. and Piney Mountain Rd. in Oakville, Wild Way Rd. in Vera, and Morning Star Rd. You can also bring your cardboard to the Landfill during normal operating hours. Cardboard is often referred to as OCC, or Old Corrugated Cardboard. Corrugated cardboard can be identified by its multi-layer construction and its brown color. The wavy middle layer is what gives the cardboard its strength, while at the same time making it light in weight. To recycle a corrugated container you need to remove all contents including plastic bags and Styrofoam. The packing materials should be placed in your trash container. It is okay to leave tape, labels, and staples on the boxes because paper mills have the capability of removing these items during the pulping process. The carton then needs to be flattened before placing it in the recycling container. Breaking down the cartons allows you to put more into the container. Not all cardboard containers are recyclable. Some containers are coated or impregnated with wax or a chemical referred to a wet strength, which gives it the capability of being refrigerated for transfer and storage. Vegetables and meats are shipped to grocery stores and restaurants in this type of container. Waxed cardboard is not recyclable with regular cardboard and should not be placed in the cardboard recycling containers. Boxboard, called chipboard or paperboard, is often confused with cardboard because of its shared usage and similar general form. Examples of boxboard include cereal boxes, beer cartons, soft drink cartons, and shoe boxes. Boxboard does not have the wavy middle layer and is usually grayish in color when you tear it and look at the inner layer. Boxboard is recyclable as mixed paper not cardboard. Boxboard needs to be placed in the mixed paper recycling containers. With the holidays coming, we will all be giving and receiving numerous packages. I challenge you to recycle your cardboard and boxboard. Let’s not forget about the wrapping paper! Wrapping paper is mixed paper. You can use a boxboard package to put all the discarded wrapping paper and place both of them in the mixed paper recycling containers. This is a great opportunity for parents to teach children about recycling and get extra help sorting and cleaning up. Let’s have great holidays and share our recycling methods with our families and friends.