Cardboard (OCC)
Old corrugated cardboard is one of the simplest scrap materials to sell in principle, and one of the easiest to accidentally devalue. Here's what actually determines what a bulk cardboard load is worth, and how to keep it that way.
OCC, Old Corrugated Containers, is the industry term for used cardboard boxes specifically, the fluted, three-layer material (two flat liner sheets sandwiching a wavy inner layer) that most shipping and packaging boxes are made from. That fluted middle layer is what gives corrugated cardboard its strength and its name, and it's also what separates it from flat, non-corrugated paperboard like cereal boxes or shoe boxes, which is a different grade again.
Almost every retail, e-commerce, and logistics business generates OCC as a genuine byproduct of normal operations, unpacking stock, shipping orders, receiving deliveries. At real volume, that's a consistent, tradeable material rather than simply rubbish to dispose of.
Metal tolerates a lot before it's unusable, a rusty piece of structural steel still melts down fine. Cardboard doesn't get that same leeway. Wet cardboard starts breaking down almost immediately and can develop mould within days, and a paper mill genuinely can't repulp a mouldy or waterlogged bale the way a furnace can still process lightly corroded steel. Dry, covered storage before baling isn't a nice-to-have here, it's close to a hard requirement for the load to be accepted at all.
This is also why outdoor cardboard collection points need a roof or tarp over them, and why a load that's been sitting exposed through a wet week is a genuinely different, lower-value proposition than the same cardboard baled the day it was generated.
Beyond moisture, a handful of specific contaminants genuinely affect what a buyer offers. Plastic pallet wrap and styrofoam packing inserts are the biggest ones at commercial volume, they're a completely different material that has to be picked out before repulping. A reasonable amount of ordinary parcel tape is normal and generally tolerated in most commercial cardboard streams, so there's no need to strip every box by hand.
Food and grease contamination is the specific one worth knowing, a genuinely greasy pizza box is the textbook example. Oil soaks into the paper fibres and can't be separated out during repulping, so food-soiled cardboard needs to stay out of a bulk load entirely rather than being baled in with clean stock. It's a small sorting step that protects the value of everything else in the load.
ScrapTrade's live-priced Cardboard (OCC) category is specifically dry, baled old corrugated containers. Loose, unbaled cardboard is harder to transport economically and generally isn't what buyers are set up to receive at volume, baling it first, the same way aluminium cans or PET bottles need to be baled, gets a genuinely better result. Office and general waste paper that isn't corrugated belongs on our Mixed Paper guide instead, the two are graded and priced separately.
Check today's OCC priceOCC volume tracks retail, e-commerce, and logistics activity more than any single industry. Sydney's Western Sydney industrial belt is one of the country's largest warehousing and distribution precincts, generating genuine, consistent cardboard volume as stock moves through it daily. Melbourne, sitting on the country's busiest container port, carries a similarly large retail and logistics base feeding the same kind of steady supply.
Neither city is a requirement. Warehouses, distribution centres, and recycling operators generate this material anywhere in Australia, and ScrapTrade connects buyers and sellers nationally regardless of where a listing is posted from.
Recycled paper production uses meaningfully less energy and water than making paper from raw wood pulp, estimates vary by source and process, but Germany's Federal Environment Agency puts recycled paper at roughly 68% less energy and 78% less water than virgin pulp production, a substantial gap by any measure. Cardboard packaging specifically already recycles well in Australia, APCO data puts the cardboard packaging recycling rate at around 71%, among the better-performing materials in the country's packaging stream. Paper fibres can only be recycled a limited number of times before they shorten too much for further reuse, which is exactly why keeping a load dry, clean, and well-baled protects more than just this one sale.
Cardboard is priced at a lower rate per tonne than metal, which makes shopping an offer around feel like more effort than it's worth, exactly the assumption a lowball buyer is counting on. On ScrapTrade, you check a live reference price first, then list your baled load at a fixed price, run it as a live auction so verified buyers compete for it, or negotiate directly, negotiation is on by default on every listing. Every listing is GPS-video verified before it goes live, and payment sits in escrow from the moment a deal is confirmed until pickup or delivery is done, so neither side is exposed first. The full case for why that beats a single yard quote is on Why Choose ScrapTrade and Trust & Safety.
Old Corrugated Containers, the industry term for used cardboard boxes specifically, the fluted, three-layer material most packaging and shipping boxes are made from. It's a distinct grade from flat, non-corrugated paperboard like cereal boxes, and from general mixed paper.
Wet cardboard doesn't just weigh differently, it starts breaking down and can develop mould within days, and a paper mill genuinely can't process a mouldy or waterlogged bale the way a scrap yard can still melt down a slightly rusty piece of steel. Dry storage before baling isn't a nice-to-have here, it's close to a hard requirement.
Not the greasy parts. Grease and food oil soak into the paper fibres and can't be removed during repulping, so a genuinely food-contaminated box (or the greasy bottom section of one) isn't accepted as clean OCC. The clean, ungreased lid of an otherwise-contaminated box is sometimes fine, but when in doubt, keep food-soiled cardboard out of a bulk load entirely.
Ideally yes, at least the obvious high-volume contamination, plastic pallet wrap, styrofoam packing inserts, and large blocks of tape. A reasonable amount of ordinary parcel tape is generally tolerated and is a normal part of most commercial cardboard streams, but plastic film and foam packaging are a different material entirely and reduce a load's value if left in.
Warehouses, distribution centres, retailers, and waste and recycling businesses consolidating genuine volume, the same profile as ScrapTrade's other bulk-packaging categories. A household's flattened delivery boxes aren't the target here, council kerbside recycling collection is the right path for that scale.
Different material entirely, OCC is specifically corrugated cardboard boxes, while Mixed Paper covers office paper and other non-corrugated waste paper. They go to different mill processes and are priced separately, see our Mixed Paper Scrap guide for the full comparison.
Yes, Cardboard (OCC) is one of ScrapTrade's live-priced calculator materials. Check today's reference price before you list or accept an offer on a baled load.
Check a live price, then sell at a fixed price, run an auction, or negotiate directly.
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