Who We Are
At Richard S. Burns & Company Inc., we are passionate about reducing waste, recycling, and repurposing reusable materials, and supporting the environment. Our company was founded in the 1960s as a one-person local cleanout operation, and we manage over 1,500 tons of material daily. Not only do we have pick-up and drop-off dumpster and Tommy Cart services, but we also work hard to recycle products, and even resell them – including cardboard.
Recycled Products
Including cardboard, we also recycle a wide variety of other products at our facility. Some of these products include the following:
- Plastic
- Wood
- Brick
- Concrete
- Porcelain
- Glass
- Other metal and non-metal materials
At Richard S. Burns & Company Inc., cardboard products are sold in bales in a variety of quantities. Cardboard is used in packaging by a lot of businesses, including one of the most well-known companies, Amazon. After cardboard serves its purpose of carrying the contents of a package to a customer, it’s typically sent to a landfill instead of being recycled, but we can help to prevent that from happening.
Why is Recycling Important?
Recycling cardboard is extremely beneficial for a number of reasons. In the United States alone, according to All County Recycling, over 80 billion corrugated boxes are used per year. However, our hope is that a large portion of that is recycled and reused. Well, we are here to help!
Here are just a few of the benefits of recycling cardboard:
- It helps the environment. According to Citizen Sustainable, “80% of products purchased in the US and the EU are packaged in cardboard. The US alone throws away around 1 billion trees in cardboard per year.” By recycling each cardboard package we receive, we can help support and preserve the environment.
- Recycling cardboard conserves water, energy, and resources. It takes a significant amount of water, energy, and resources to make cardboard, but recycling cardboard means it does not have to go through this process again. To put this in perspective, recycling one ton of cardboard saves roughly 7,000 gallons of water!
- Recycling reduces the amount of waste and materials that go to landfills. By repurposing cardboard, you prevent further reusable materials from going to landfills where they sit and take years to fully break down. Additionally, cardboard is easier to store for reuse than other materials because it can be folded up and be kept in tighter places than plastic, glass, or metal containers.
- It helps prevent deforestation. Deforestation means “the clearing or severe thinning of a forest or other wooded area, leaving few or no trees.” Cardboard is made from tree pulp, but it can be recycled and reused an average of 6 times. And according to Citizen Sustainable, “Recycling one ton of cardboard can save 17 trees.”
- It reduces pollution and greenhouse gases. When cardboard sits in a landfill, it emits a gas called methane – a greenhouse gas (made up of carbon and hydrogen) that negatively impacts the environment and climate change.
