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Why paper is graded at all
Paper is recycled by soaking it into pulp and making new paper or board from the fibres. Different papers have different fibres. Long, strong fibres from boxes make new boxes. Clean white office paper can make new white paper. Mixed and dirty paper can only make lower-grade products.
Each time paper is recycled, the fibres get shorter. That is why clean, well-sorted paper is worth more than a mixed pile: it keeps more of its future uses.
The common grades
| Grade | What it includes | How it is valued |
|---|---|---|
| Corrugated cardboard | Brown boxes and cartons from packaging | Steady demand; the most common grade |
| White office paper | Printer paper, notebooks without covers, forms | Usually higher, when clean and sorted |
| Newspaper | Old newspapers, kept dry | Its own grade, separate from mixed paper |
| Mixed paper | Magazines, flyers, envelopes, mixed office waste | Lower; used for lower-grade board |
| Duplex / grey board | Cereal boxes, shoe boxes, thin printed cartons | Lower than corrugated |
Grade names and boundaries differ between buyers, so ask yours which grades they keep separate.
What costs you money
Moisture. Wet cardboard is heavier, so it looks like more material on the scale. Every buyer knows this and deducts for it, often generously. Badly wet or mouldy cardboard may be refused outright.
Plastic and wax coatings. Waxed boxes, plastic-laminated cartons, and paper cups do not pulp properly. They are contamination in a cardboard load.
Tape, straps and foam. Small amounts of tape are tolerated. Plastic strapping, thermocol and bubble wrap left inside boxes are not.
Food and oil. Greasy pizza boxes and food-soiled paper spoil the pulp.
Mixing grades. White office paper thrown in with cardboard is paid as cardboard.
How to get a better rate
- Flatten every box. Flat cardboard stacks, bundles and weighs cleanly.
- Keep it dry. Store under cover and off the floor, on a pallet if possible.
- Pull out strapping, foam and plastic before bundling.
- Keep white office paper separate from cardboard and mixed paper.
- Bundle or bale it. Tied bundles are faster to load and easier to grade.
- Sell on a regular schedule. Paper stored for months in a hot, damp corner loses quality.
For confidential office paper, shred it first or ask your buyer about secure handling.
See also: Sorting scrap at the machine, not in the corner.
How we buy paper and cardboard. We weigh openly, check moisture in front of you, and tell you which grade we are paying for. If part of the load is wet or coated, we show you which part rather than marking the whole load down.
Have cardboard or paper to clear?
Send photographs of how it is stored, the type (boxes, office paper, newspaper) and a rough weight. We collect from shops, offices and factories across Thiruvallur.