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When handling cardboard in Chicago, you don’t have to get a headache! The city has lots of ways to get those boxes out of your house and into the right destinations while following the rules that help keep our city running.
You have more possibilities than you might think. The blue recycling bins right outside your home will take most of your Amazon boxes (and other cardboard too)! For the bulkier items, you can swing by one of Chicago’s drop-off centers or schedule a pickup. And check this out – some local businesses will even take your cardboard off your hands for free.
Maybe you’re drowning in moving boxes or you’re scratching your head about if that greasy pizza box can go in with regular recycling. These are all common problems that pop up during your time living in Chicago. The good news? You have lots of useful services waiting for you.
Now let’s dig into the specifics of handling your cardboard the Chicago way!
Chicago can give you lots of locations to drop off your recyclables and you won’t need to look far to find one nearby! Head over to the City of Chicago Residential Recycling Drop-Off Centers – you’ll find them at 6441 N. Ravenswood on the Far North Side and 1758 S. Clark Street down Near South. These convenient places stay open all week long while the sun’s up – that makes recycling easy. You won’t have to spend any time sorting your materials out or buying bags. Just remember they’ll take out any plastic bags when they process everything (keep this in mind). Whenever you see dumpsters that are packed full, give 312.744.5702 a quick call.
When you look for another location, check out GreenWay Recycling at 2100 S. Kilbourn Ave. You can swing by Monday through Friday between 5:00 AM and 6:00 PM – or Saturday until 3:00 PM. They’ll take your cardboard and plastics and they’ll even come pick up bigger loads. Getting there is easy – just hop on Cicero Ave. from either the Eisenhower (I-290) or I-55.
The Chicago Resource Center runs two convenient stations you might want to try! Pop into the North Park Village place at 5801 N. Pulaski Rd any day between 10 AM and 4 PM. Or you can visit their Rail Yard center at 1325 East 70th Street on weekdays from 9 AM to 3 PM.
You can give all kinds of materials to these locations – cardboard, food containers, newspapers and different types of glass. Just make sure you read and follow the posted signs about what goes where.
Recycling benefits your neighborhood in ways you might not expect. Local businesses love these centers because they save money on trash pickup while improving their eco-friendly reputation. Take The Resource Center – they’re crushing it by recycling more than 90% of what comes through their doors and keeping tons of waste out of landfills.
Your Blue Cart can make cardboard recycling pretty easy in Chicago – you just toss it in with your regular weekly pickup! But when you have those mountains of cardboard boxes you’ll need something bigger.
IRS ( Independent Recycling Services) stands ready and will help with all your cardboard recycling needs. You can get a custom plan that fits your specific situation, if you’re recycling standard cardboard or paper products.
Getting started is easy – you can jump on their website for a free waste audit or reach out to their team anytime at 312-732-9253! They’re available 24/7 to help you out.
Money-wise, IRS keeps the rates reasonable. But you’ll need to talk with them directly to get the exact numbers for your preferences.
SBC Waste Services can give you another reliable option for getting rid of your cardboard. Pick up the phone and dial 312-522-1115 to set up either curbside pickup or rent a dumpster – whatever works better for you. The prices change based on how big a dumpster you need and how frequently you want it emptied. You’ll want to give them a call to find out the specifics.
When the regular recycling bins just won’t cut it anymore, businesses like IRS and SBC make perfect sense! Take some time to shop around and compare what each business offers.
College HUNKS Hauling Junk and Tri-State Disposal round out your options. College HUNKS charges based on how much space your items take up in their truck and they’ll usually show up same-day or next-day. Tri-State Disposal stands out with their flexible scheduling – you can usually get a dumpster delivered within 24 hours!
You need to manage cardboard recycling properly for successful pickup and processing. Breaking down boxes takes just a minute and can give you some way more space in your bin! Simply flatten them completely and you’re set.
Remove any plastic wrap, tape or other non-cardboard materials before you put it out. Your whole bin of recycling could get thrown out because of leftover tape.
Your recycling workers have to handle the pieces – oversized cardboard won’t fit in the truck.
Put your cardboard out at the right time. Your recycling gets picked up with your regular garbage for curbside pickup. If you have alley service instead, look for collection during your designated week. Since pickup happens every other week, mark your calendar to stay on schedule!
Toss your flattened cardboard straight into your blue recycling bin (no bags needed). It’s straightforward. But watch for problems that can disrupt the process.
Food and liquid stains ruin recycling. That pizza box might look fine. But rip off any greasy places and throw those in the trash. Those oversized boxes won’t get picked up unless you cut them down first.
Don’t put recyclables in plastic bags – they’ll likely end up in the landfill. The same applies when mixing in Styrofoam, old clothes or building materials with cardboard. These items belong elsewhere.
When we recycle properly, cardboard stays out of landfills and helps our environment. Well-recycled cardboard becomes fresh products instead of waste.
When recycling cardboard in Chicago with your business, you have lots of reliable options to make the process smooth and easy.
Team up with a recycling company like FV Recycling or GFL Environmental. They’ll manage the heavy lifting for you! These businesses will come right to your door with their bale path hauling and trailer services – that makes sure your cardboard gets where it needs to go. They’ll set you up with exactly what you need – if that’s some dumpsters, bins or a custom collection schedule that works for your business.
Want to take charge of recycling at your workplace? Get yourself a cardboard baler. You can turn mountains of those boxes into cool, compact bales that take up way less space. The best part? You can actually earn some money by selling these bales to recycling businesses or paper mills. Or grab a cardboard shredder to turn those old boxes into packaging material – you’ll save a ton on buying new materials.
Chicago has some rules about recycling and you need to follow them. Make sure you’re separating your cardboard the right way and keeping it clean. No plastic, no food waste or other waste mixed in.
Want to know something cool? Smart cardboard recycling puts money back in your pocket! You’ll spend less on waste collection and selling those cardboard bales brings in extra cash. When you reuse cardboard for packaging, you’re cutting down on what you need to buy new.
Let’s talk about Chicago’s recycling locations. The Resource Center welcomes your cardboard at their North Park Village and Rail Yard facilities. When you run a bigger operation, GreenWay Recycling will come pick up your cardboard. On the other hand, HazChem Environmental turns it into material that paper mills can use. They’ll take pretty much any kind of cardboard you have – shipping boxes, product packaging and more.
Every box you recycle helps our environment and community. You’re saving trees, using less water and producing less greenhouse gases. You’re keeping Chicago’s recycling industry strong and growing.
Your recycling work in Chicago creates real, measurable results for the environment. Every time you toss a cardboard box into the recycling bin, you’re helping to keep Chicago’s landfills from getting packed. You’re saving energy since making new cardboard from recycled materials needs way less power than starting from scratch.
When you recycle cardboard, you can slash the amount of harmful gases going into the air – that’s a direct way you can fight climate change right from your own home or business.
You’re saving trees too – lots of them. When you choose to use recycled cardboard, you’re cutting down on water usage. Fresh cardboard needs tons of water to make. But recycled materials? Not nearly as much.
Chicago’s recycling program is thriving. When you put cardboard in your blue bin, there’s an 80% chance it actually gets recycled (thanks to businesses like LRS and Groot working hard in your neighborhood). Your recycling work helps Chicago thrive as a greener and more sustainable place to live.
Your choice to recycle cuts down on pollution across Illinois. The numbers tell the story – you’re helping stay away from 21,500 tons of water pollution and 131,000 tons of air pollution every year! That’s enough saved energy to power 578,000 homes. You’re also keeping 4 million tons of greenhouse gases out of the air annually.
For every job at a landfill, recycling creates 10 new positions. Want to make it even better? Composting creates four times more jobs than landfills do.
The process of recycling your cardboard box is easy. Once you put it in the bin, it gets broken down into pulp and changed into all sorts of new products – fresh boxes, paper towels, even writing paper. Every time you recycle, you’re building a more sustainable Chicago for everyone.
Your residential Blue Cart service makes cardboard recycling easy and free! You’ll just need to break down all your boxes and toss them in your blue bin. The city handles the rest as part of your regular waste pickup.
If you don’t have curbside pickup, you can still recycle your cardboard for free at convenient drop-off centers around town.
Your business has options through businesses like Mid America Paper Recycling and HazChem Environmental. These pros will create a custom plan that works best for you! You can get expert training and the right equipment for your setup. While the prices change based on how much cardboard you generate and your pickup schedule, you might actually make money from your recycled materials – this extra income helps cover operational costs.
Mid America Paper Recycling takes operations further – they’ll check out your current setup and show you ways to improve your recycling, completely free.
You have some creative options too. Marketplaces like BoxCycle and Freecycle let you sell those boxes or give them away to someone who needs them. Local box brokers will buy your moving boxes (though you’ll probably share some of the profits). When you move, businesses around town will take those boxes off your hands – sometimes for free.
Since costs add up, check how much cardboard you have first. Pick the strategy that matches your budget. Business owners should shop around and compare different recycling services. Sure – you might spend a little up front. But the long-term savings and environmental benefits are worth every penny.
If you’re living in the city, stick with your Blue Cart service or local drop-off locations – they’re your most budget-friendly options!
Chicago’s cardboard recycling depends on you taking a few simple steps in the right way. You need to pull off any tape, remove the plastic bits and keep your boxes clean and dry before tossing them in the bin. These little steps add up to something big. They help keep the recycling machines running and ensure that your cardboard actually gets recycled instead of being trashed.
Your actions at home affect the whole city’s recycling system! When you throw unwanted materials in your bin or leave food waste on boxes, it creates serious problems at the recycling facility. The machines can break down. Entire loads of useful recyclables end up in the landfill because of contamination. Just taking an extra minute to break down your boxes the right way keeps everything flowing.
You might not realize it. But each box you recycle the right way creates jobs, saves energy and keeps our landfills from filling up too fast. The city’s recycling program thrives when everyone pitches in and handles these tasks properly!
JUNK Relief comes in when you have more cardboard and materials than your regular bins can manage. Our team has spent nearly 20 years helping Chicago stay clean and green. We show up same-day, give you an honest price first and take care of everything. From small cleanouts to big industrial hauls, our commitment to recycling and donating means your materials won’t just end up in a landfill.
Schedule online or call us now! We’ll manage the heavy lifting while you kick back and relax.
If you’ve got junk in Chicago or the Chicagoland Suburbs, we can help. CALL US or TEXT US at (312) 800-1940.
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