Paper Recycling:

Cardboard, Newsprint, and Other Fiber Materials Welcomed

Most households and businesses do not recycle all of the paper products that could avoid going to the landfill. And they do not benefit from recovering the scrap value of the paper they throw away. As a result, a potential benefit to both the individual and the environment as a whole is lost. Recycled cardboard, for example, uses 50% less energy, produces 75% less air pollution and 35% less water pollution than newly manufactured packaging.

RecycleWise’s mission is to make it easy and profitable for our customers to sell paper materials to us and to buy recycled paper from us.

RecycleWise buys and sells:

Cardboard (OCC)

Old Corrugated Cardboard (OCC) is plentiful, easy to recycle and has a high scrap value. Both homes and businesses receive a lot of cardboard. Corrugated cardboard has a multiple layer construction with a corrugated or wavy middle layer spacer. It should not be confused with paperboard nor mingled with it. Old Corrugated Cardboard that is coated with wax or plastic polymers cannot usually be recycled. RecycleWise seeks OCC in any quantity from a few boxes to truck loads and pays well for it. Concerning large shipments, prohibitive materials, including paperboard, may not exceed 1% of total shipment weight. Total out throws may not exceed 5%. Businesses with large amounts of OCC, can benefit from discussing methods, logistics, techniques, equipment and transportation with RecycleWise. There is no cost or obligation. Professional OCC collectors are welcome and rewarded.

Newspaper (ONP)

Old Newspaper (ONP) is one of the first materials to be recycled on a broad basis dating back to the early 1900’s and really catching on with paper drives in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Today, more newspaper is recycled, than goes into landfills (since 1993). Over 70 percent of old U.S. newspapers are recovered and recycled. One-third of recycled newsprint fiber is used to manufacture newspaper. Recycled newspaper is also used to create cereal boxes, egg cartons, grocery bags, packing materials, tissue paper and many other fiber products. Newspapers must be dry, not be mixed with other paper or cardboard and must be free of contaminants including wax, food residue, grease, oil, materials that could be harmful to people/equipment and essentially anything that is not old newspaper. RecycleWise is very pleased to purchase OPN (old newspaper) in any quantity from a stack of old newspapers to tractor trailers full.

White Ledger (SWL)

White ledger paper is printed and unprinted sheets of uncoated, white, ground wood-free; ledger, bond, writing and other quality paper of high fiber content. To be recycled, the white ledger paper must be dry, unbound/unattached sheets, not mixed with other paper or materials and must be free of grease, oil and essentially anything that is not white ledger paper. White ledger paper is different from color ledger and white and colored office paper, which RecycleWise also purchases. For the best recycling prices, it is best papers be separated by types. RecycleWise’s friendly staff is happy to help you understand and identify different paper types. If this interests you, please ask on your next visit to RecycleWise.

Office Paper

Office Paper is coated or uncoated, colored or white, printed upon or not printed on paper AND manila and colored file folders (not hanging file holders) generated in an home or business office. More than 90% of business information is still involves office paper. Well over 100 billion sheets of paper are printed annually by computer printers in the United States, with the average user printing 20 sheets per day. Fortunately, this paper can be and is recycled. While office paper and folders are accepted unsorted, it must not contain other papers and if such exceeds 2% of the total weight of the unsorted office paper, it must be downgraded in value and price. While RecycleWise does not require presort of office or other papers, sorting paper by color, or coating, or type can increase the value. To recycle office paper it must be dry, unbound/unattached sheets, not mixed with other types of paper or materials and must be free grease, oil and anything that is not office paper. For information on various paper types and grades, please ask your RecycleWise staff member when you visit or call. While not all are shown in this site, there are about 50 grades of paper and specialty paper.

If you have quantities of paper materials and are not sure whether they can be recycled, give RecycleWise a call at 951-550-2020.