Reuse Supplier Cardboard Boxes to Reduce Costs and Waste

A positive environmental trend from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data cites corrugated cardboard box recycling increased from 67.3 percent in 2000 to 96.5 percent in 2018. Although we have made great strides much work and opportunity remain. Shifting to a truly sustainable net zero waste free economy requires we use natural resources more efficiently and effectively. Further optimizing cardboard packaging use offers a practical path to generate cost savings and improve company sustainability.

As raw material prices continue to rise across the board, leaders are seeking ways to fend off cost increases. The price of raw material wood pulp, the core input raw material for corrugated cardboard boxes, has increased 40-percent from 2020-2022 after years of remaining stable. To further pile on, corrugated board suppliers in U.S. rolled out a $60-70 per ton price hike for containerboard grades in Q1 2022. Suppliers cited increases in input costs and supply chain pressures along with steady demand as the driver for further price increases.

Follow Recycling Hierarchy to Elevate Cardboard Use

An insightful reference to help identify opportunities to improve how cardboard materials are used is the EPAs 3R’s of Waste Management hierarchy to guide better decision making. The hierarchy can help teams prioritize opportunities and develop supporting work streams to shift carboard boxes from lower value recycling to higher value reuse.

This seemingly small mindset shift to use materials for their highest and best use has the potential to reduce companies’ costs and elevate profits all while reducing a company’s carbon footprint.

Unfortunately, most inbound supplier packaging e.g., often cardboard boxes, is disposed of as a waste in the form of cardboard recycling.

Recommendation:

Reuse valuable "waste" output as a "replacement" input into your product cardboard boxes and/or other packaging materials, such as plastic bags, to eliminate the purchase of new packaging. As an example, reuse inbound supplier cardboard boxes as outbound product cardboard boxes to eliminate new cardboard box purchases for products and waste disposal costs.

First, select specific product cardboard boxes to replace with reused supplier cardboard boxes. Next, reuse various inbound supplier cardboard boxes into standard outbound reused product cardboard boxes via the following steps. ?

• Step 1 - Disassemble and flatten supplier boxes by carefully pulling apart glued corners
• Step 2 - Trace template and cut into reused product boxes using simple wood box template
• Step 3 - Assemble and stamp e.g., celebrate, reused product boxes to share with customers your “reuse why” and encourage others to follow suit to maximize your impact

Lastly, ensure the amount of ongoing supplier packaging satisfies ongoing product packaging demand.?To accomplish this, conduct a Material Input and Output Analysis. If a delta exists, encourage employees to bring boxes from home online purchases e.g., Amazon boxes.

A few years ago, this employee engagement approach might have seemed like an awkward request and a plan few employees would participate in. I can tell you from personal experience that my Ann Arbor, Michigan city recycling bin is overflowing with boxes on a weekly basis. It is true that I order a lot online, but I am not alone. Often, I find myself seeking ways to recycle my overflowing cardboard. I would gladly bring my carboard to an employer for free to tidy up the home front with the added benefit of helping my company and the planet.

Form Creative New Applications ?

At first glace this sustainable supply chain play might seem overly simplistic. The goods news is that to get started it is. As you realize success there are additional levels to the possible cost reductions and approach applications.

What new internal box packaging, foam packing peanuts, packaging inserts, and protective corners can be replaced with reused packaging? Are there opportunities to replace single use inbound supplier packaging with reused carboard packaging? ?

Opportunities abound to apply cardboard reuse to your internal operations and throughout your value chain. Challenge yourself and your team to think bolder beyond simply reusing boxes and reworking boxes for outbound customer product shipments. New and exciting carboard reuse applications will present themselves when we shift our mindset from viewing cardboard as useless waste outputs to valuable resource inputs.?