Recycling is a great alternative to a landfill and a single cardboard box can be recycled up to seven times. However, there’s a problem. Prior to 2017, the US’s largest buyer of OCC (old corrugated cardboard) bales was China as they lack natural resources for virgin fiber (from farmed trees). Due to increasing contaminants (trash, mold, etc.) the Chinese government stopped allowing the import of US bales. The price dropped and so did the market. Bales are now stacking up and going directly into landfills.  

So you’re paying to recycle, but they are not likely getting recycled. If they are, there are transportation costs and intensive use of resources, such as water, to turn those boxes back into pulp to be used again. Not to mention the manufacturing process and distribution back to manufacturers.

That’s why it’s EmptyBox’s mission to facilitate the reuse rather than recycle of cardboard boxes by installing community reuse stations and a peer to peer connection platform to connect those that need boxes with those that need to dispose of boxes.