Cardboard is one of the most recycled materials in the world. About 65% of all cardboard is recycled each year. There are different ways to recycle cardboard. Richard S. Burns & Company offers efficient, environment-friendly cardboard recycling services in Philly County. Here are the steps involved during the process.
- Collection
The first step in the recycling process is a collection. Cardboard is collected from businesses and homes through recycling programs, or cardboard set out with the regular trash. Once collected, the cardboard is taken to a recycling facility.
- Separation
By hand, workers remove non-cardboard materials at the recycling facility, such as plastic film or Styrofoam. The machines then shred the cardboard into small pieces.
The next step is to sort the shredded cardboard by weight and type. Corrugated cardboard is heavier than paperboard and will be separated accordingly. Once the two types of cardboard are separated, they are further sorted by grade.
There are three grades of corrugated cardboard: brown Kraft (the most common type), test liner (a recycled material used in cereal boxes and egg cartons), and fluting (the wavy layer between the liner boards of a corrugated box). The different grades are used to make different types of products.
- Processing
It involves breaking down the cardboard into smaller pieces. The first process is pulping, where water and chemicals are used to break down the cardboard. Next is screening and cleaning, where a screen separates contaminants from the pulp. The last step is de-inking, where ink is removed from the pulp using a floatation process.
After the cardboard has been processed, it is ready to be made into new products. Some of the most common items made from recycled cardboard include:
-Tissue paper
-Paperboard
-Packing peanuts
-Recycled paper
-Cardboard boxes
-Egg cartons
-Cereal boxes
- Manufacturing
In the cardboard manufacturing process, recycled paper is mixed with water and chemicals to create a slurry. The slurry is then inserted into a machine called a Fourdrinier. This machine contains a moving mesh which helps to form the pulp into a thin mat.
The mat is then pressed and dried to create large rolls of paper known as linerboard.
The linerboard is fed through a machine which coats one side with a thin layer of clay. The clay helps to make the linerboard stronger and more moisture-resistant. The coated linerboard is then cut into smaller pieces and sent to another machine called a corrugator.
- Recycling
Lastly, our team at Burns Co in Philly County takes pride in our cardboard recycling process. We have a particular machine which flattens the cardboard to be recycled more easily. It will reduce the amount of waste which goes into landfills, and it also helps to conserve energy.
Conclusion
Richard S. Burns Co in Philly County is well-known for our cardboard recycling process. Our team is dedicated to checking all the cardboard we collect is properly recycled. We use a variety of methods to recycle cardboard.
