Recycling Cardboard

Corrugated cardboard is a highly valuable recyclable product that can be remade into new boxes, packing material, wood products, etc. Cardboard has a waxy, wavy middle layer and is used for most shipping and storage boxes.

Where can I recycle cardboard?

Charleston County will pick up cardboard at the curb with your regular recyclables. Curbside residents should flatten and place cardboard boxes, up to three feet by three feet in size, between or under their two bins (one bin for plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum cans, steel cans and aerosol cans, and another bin for paper, such as magazines, newspaper, junk mail, paperboard and office paper) or cardboard could be placed inside a separate bin. Curbside recycling in Charleston County is collected bi-weekly in the urban areas starting at 7 a.m. Rural residents, as well as curbside users who have cardboard pieces larger than three feet by three feet, can drop their cardboard off at the drop site locations and County staffed Convenience Centers. Charleston County Environmental Management maintains 40 cardboard drop sites and eight Convenience Centers located throughout the County.

If you utilize the cardboard drop site locations, be sure to flatten the boxes before inserting them into the cardboard containers in order to save space for more cardboard and make it easier to process it at the Recycling Center.

All paperboard (i.e. cereal boxes, soda can and beer boxes, etc.) should be put with your other paper recyclables. 
 

There are two very important reasons to recycle cardboard:

Economic Benefits: Because cardboard is bulky and takes up a lot of dumpster space, businesses and apartment/condo complexes that generate large volumes of cardboard may rack up costly disposal fees for the extra volume the cardboard refuse creates. Recycling cardboard will reduce trash disposal fees.

Environmental Benefits:  Recycling cardboard (like any other type of paper) reduces the demand for new paper from virgin pulp, thereby saving trees and decreasing the amount of pollution generated in new paper production. Also, because cardboard is such bulky waste, recycling it saves significant amounts of space in landfills.

If you have questions about recycling cardboard, contact the Environmental Management Department at (843) 720-7111.