Why 80% recycled boxes are better than those with 100% recycled content
At Kilby Packaging our stock boxes are made from typically 80% recycled materials. Compared to a 100% recycled content box at first glance ours may appear to be less sustainable, however it is advisable to consider the exact requirements needed from the box before drawing a conclusion, as 80% recycled boxes have some superior features along with very good sustainable credentials.
Corrugated Box Structure
Corrugated sheet board from which boxes are constructed consist of two sheets of paper, the liners, sandwiching a wavy piece of paper, the flute. Kraftliners are predominantly made from primary kraft pulp whereas testliners are a recycled fibre-based paper (1). The fluting between the liners is made from recycled paper. There are many types of flutes, dependant on how strong your box needs to be.
80% v 100% recycled boxes
A single walled box labelled as 100% recycled is constructed by sandwiching the flute between two test liners. Our equivalent box is made with a kraft outer liner and test inner liner either side of the flute, resulting in around 80% recycled content.
An 80% recycled content box offers greater strength and durability as the 20% of virgin fibres are longer and structurally superior to shorter recycled fibres when equivalent board grades are compared. It's likely that a 100% recycled box would be a heavier box in order to achieve the same physical performance as the 80% recycled content box.
In addition, the 80% recycled content boxes that generally use kraft liners on the outer surface of the box, offer a smoother surface finish which results in a superior print quality and improved adhesion to the box sealing tape.
The 80/20% split offers a balance between ensuring good structural integrity of the box which is important in terms of performance and protecting the contents, along with minimising the environmental impact by using a high proportion of recycled content. Paper fibres cannot be recycled indefinitely (2) as they become shorter and weaker throughout the recycling process, thus some virgin fibre is always needed to keep the paper in the circularity loop. It is this circularity loop, that ensures that once a box is recycled at the end of its use, recycled paper content is available to be used in the manufacture of new corrugated boxes.
In addition, Kilby Packaging hold certification confirming that the virgin fibres used in the corrugated board have been sourced sustainably from well managed forests.
All things considered, Kilby Packaging is confident that we offer high quality boxes that meet performance requirements along with having very good environmental credentials.
Why choose stock boxes
As a box manufacturer and stockist of boxes, our range of off-the-shelf boxes are particularly popular when you require a smaller quantity, next day delivery or need to mix and match sizes. Standard boxes are either single wall, super strong single wall or double wall strengths, all supplied flat and then the top and bottom are sealed with tape. Alternatively, we have postal boxes which are also supplied flat but are folded into a top opening box. These are available in brown, white or black kraft paper. For a quick to pack option why not try our fast assemble range of boxes, with pop-up, 'crash-lock' base and adhesive strips to seal.
Use our website filter to find the perfect size box or give us a call today.
Sources
(1) - European List of Corrugated Base Papers, Cepi Containerboard, 6th Edition, October 2022 - link here
(2) Resource wise - 2023 - link here