The Secret of Reuse & How It Can Make Your Company More Profitable

If your business is looking for a more profitable alternative to baling or recycling corrugated boxes, there are a couple of reasonable options.

Option 1: Reuse Program

One strategy is to implement a reuse program within the company, saving a lot of money in the process. Establishing a corrugate reuse program can work for major manufacturing plants, and will generally yield immediate savings. These companies won’t be spending money to buy boxes for packaging their own items. However, many businesses find this option unattractive due to the time, effort and space needed to sort and store the boxes. 

Photo courtesy of erix!(CC Attribution)

Option 2: Resell Program

The second strategy is more popular and better suited to most businesses. Reselling corrugated boxes is profitable because it brings in additional revenue. Other companies are willing to buy your used cardboard boxes because the costs are significantly less than purchasing new boxes. To get the most out of your used boxes, pay attention to the factors enabling you to sell used corrugate quickly: 

• The size of the box matters. Large containers like Gaylord boxes tend to be more valuable than small ones. If your company handles shipments or manages a warehouse that routinely deals with large boxes, it’s definitely a good idea to resell versus recycling – and baling would be a total waste. 
• The quality of the corrugate determines its resale value. To do well in a reselling program, your boxes need to be in good shape – suitable for industrial reuse. Often, a few minor tweaks to your process can help you maintain used boxes for resale. It might be a simple adjustment in your process to prevent or reduce tearing or ripping. 
• Finding a buyer who might be interested in corrugated boxes is more realistic for a company that is based in a metropolitan area. Manufacturers located in major cities are the ideal candidates since they might know of other companies that need corrugate for packaging their products. Such businesses can establish a relationship with potential buyers in order to ensure a long-term demand for their used corrugated boxes. 

In many cases, direct resale may not be possible or feasible because you may not have the resources to identify and contact buyers, let alone distribute in a way they will find useful. We think the best solution is to work with us at Boxsmart. We’ll not only get you the best price for your used boxes, we’ll save you time and money by collecting/sorting your cardboard boxes, prepping for reuse, and distributing to other companies. 

We are also skilled at getting the best prices on the market because we package and deliver large quantities of same-size boxes to very large companies.

Bottom Line

Reuse of used boxes, whether within the company or selling them to other businesses, is the most profitable way to manage corrugate scrap versus bailing or recycling.