What we handle.
- OCC (old corrugated containers) — clean, loose or pre-baled.
- Mixed paper from offices and warehouses.
- Contaminated corrugated — labels, tape, wax coatings, foodservice residue.
- Wet or rain-damaged corrugated from outdoor storage.
- Shrink wrap and strapping — sorted separately for plastics recycling.
Equipment at the yard.
Our vertical baler runs a 60 HP motor and spits out ~1,200 lb bales tied with 11-gauge wire. Bales go into a 14-foot bunker under roof so they don’t get rained on before the outbound truck arrives. We process roughly 120 tons of OCC per month.
Documentation you get.
Every pickup comes with a weigh ticket and a certificate of diversion that lists the inbound tonnage, the outbound destination mill, and the corresponding CO₂e avoidance per the U.S. EPA WARM model. This is the document your sustainability team wants for audits.
What we will not do.
We will not landfill reusable boxes to clear dock space. If a pickup includes gaylords that are structurally sound, we’ll pull them out of the bale pile and offer you a buy-back price instead. This is rule 01 from our mission page.
How we price recycling pickups.
Recycling pickup pricing depends on three things: volume, distance and contamination level. Clean OCC bales delivered to our yard earn the customer a rebate based on the current OCC market price. Loose corrugated picked up from your facility costs the customer a per-pickup fee, but the fee is offset by the bale value (and by the avoided landfill tip fee). Heavily contaminated loads cost the customer more because the sort time is longer and the bale value is lower.
Pickup pricing benchmarks.
| Material | Pickup pricing | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-baled clean OCC | Rebate: $40–$80/ton | Weigh ticket + diversion certificate |
| Loose clean OCC | Net rebate: $0–$30/ton | Weigh ticket + diversion certificate |
| Mixed corrugated (light contamination) | Cost: $20–$50/ton | Weigh ticket + sort log |
| Heavily contaminated mixed | Cost: $80–$140/ton | Sort log + disposal documentation |
| Wet/water-damaged corrugated | Cost: $40–$80/ton | Weigh ticket + diversion certificate |
Documentation we provide.
Every recycling pickup comes with the same paperwork package: a weigh ticket showing the inbound and outbound tonnage, a certificate of diversion that lists the destination paper mill and the calculated CO₂e avoidance under the EPA WARM model, and a copy of our internal sort log if the pickup involved any sorting work. This is the documentation your sustainability team needs for ESG reporting and your auditor needs for compliance verification.
Bale sizing and standards.
Our vertical baler produces bales that are roughly 1,200 pounds each, tied with 11-gauge wire, sized to fit on a standard pallet. Bales meet the ISRI #11 OCC grade standard for downstream sale. We sell directly to several mills in the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions and we get the prevailing market rate per ton.
What happens after we pick up.
- The truck weighs in at our yard scale and the load gets logged.
- The load goes to the sort area, where reusable boxes are pulled out and routed to grading.
- The remaining material goes to the baler.
- Bales are weighed individually and tagged with the inbound source.
- Bales are stored under roof until a downstream mill schedules pickup.
- The customer receives a diversion certificate listing tonnage, destination, and CO₂e avoidance.
Recycling FAQ.
Will I make money on my OCC, or just break even?
Depends on volume and the OCC market. Pre-baled clean OCC delivered to our yard usually generates a positive rebate. Loose pickup of clean material with significant freight usually nets out close to zero. Contaminated material is a cost, not a rebate. We’ll quote both ways so you can see the math.
What if I have a one-time clean-out instead of a recurring pickup?
We do one-time clean-outs all the time. Just include the approximate volume and a few photos in your initial email and we’ll quote it. The math works for surprisingly small volumes if the load is clean.
How fast can you schedule a pickup?
Standard pickup is 3–7 business days. Rush pickup (1–3 days) is available for full-trailer volumes with a small premium.
Do you handle non-corrugated paper recycling?
Mixed paper, yes — office paper, magazines, junk mail, all go through the same baler with a different bale tag. Specialty paper grades (book paper, glossy stock, computer paper) we handle on case-by-case based on the volume.