Cardboard

Cardboard is a superb material for recycling, in commercial terms. It has a relatively high value, and it has a wide range of uses second time around - from stationery to animal bedding to coffins!

The recycling process sees the cardboard soaked in water to turn it into pulp. This can happen four or five rimes before the fibres degrade and disintegrate.

While cardboard does biodegrade, it can take many months and commercial composting involves a 12 week process. This is not enough time for the cardboard to break down and rot - and there are similar issues with shredded paper.

Because of this, we have had to rethink how cardboard is dealt with. We know that it can no longer go into the green bin, and the black box collection vehicles are not designed for large, bulky material such as card.

So we have converted 30 easy-to-access mini recycling sites across the district to take both cardboard and plastic bottles. These sites are at the most convenient locations possible, to minimise the need to make a special journey. We will be encouraging people to make recycling an automatic part of their regular trips to the supermarket, local school or town centre.

All cardboard can also be recycled at the district’s three household recycling centres, while home composting can be used to dispose of scrunched-up thin cardboard and shredded paper.

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