Cardboard & paper
Cardboard recycling involves the waste material being shredded, mixed with water and returned to a pulp. Contaminants are removed and then the pulp containing wood fibres is used to make new paper and card products. Cardboard can usually be recycled 5 times throughout its life. We can accept cardboard loose or baled.
Environment First can accept a wide range of cardboard and paper waste and can collect it loose or baled depending on your preferences:
- Magazines
- Papers
- Office paper
- Cartons
- Fruit boxes
- Cardboard boxes
- Cardboard crates
- Cardboard tubes
- Brochures
- Newspapers
- Flyers

We provide a collection service on loose or baled cardboard / paper within the Kent and London area. Weekly, monthly or one-time collections. No big bills, pay as you go.
As part of our service we can supply a cardboard baler, otherwise known as a cardboard compactor. We can advise what baler you will need when we assess your cardboard recycling requirements.
Rebates for cardboard recycling
We track cardboard prices through Lets Recycle but for accurate pricing please call us for a rebate price.
Cardboard Recycling FAQs
We have a lot of cardboard that needs collection right now: can you collect this from us and can we get paid for it?
YES as part of a regular recycling/collection contract – we arrange a service of regular collections of recyclable cardboard from business premises across Kent and London. Please phone for urgent pickups of baled cardboard. If you have large quantities of scrap cardboard on site that is not yet compacted/baled, we’ll help you get set up with the right equipment first.
Can we rent or buy a cardboard baler from you?
YES we supply new and refurbished balers. Contact Us for a quote.
What type of cardboard baler do we need?
We will advise you and visit your site. We will ensure you get exactly the right equipment.
Do we produce enough cardboard to make money selling it for recycling?
Usually commercial facilities will be surprised by how much cardboard they are generating: if it is mixed into general waste it may be hard to assess. We can help you make estimates about the ROI from getting a cardboard baler, selling baled cardboard for recycling, and how much potentially you will save by reducing your general waste collection costs.
Balers
We are able to offer Horizontal and Vertical Balers for your cardboard baling. These can either be rented from us on a weekly basis or purchased outright. We can offer a full-service maintenance contract which includes 2 x Services under PUWER Regulations.
The size of the baler depends primarily on the size of cardboard you are most commonly flattening as waste, and the overall volume of waste you are producing.
Most balers are run regularly so that your team can drop waste in and flatten in a cycle each time, continuously adding over a day or several days until it is full and the bale can be ejected.
Keep it dry! Balers can be situated indoors or outdoors. If outdoors the machinery should be kept under shelter. Most importantly, when baling cardboard do not let it get wet – for example store the finished bales indoors or under a tarp.

Buy or hire?
In general, hiring the equipment makes most sense for the majority of commercial facilities.
With NO up front capital expenditure you immediately realise the revenue of selling recyclable cardboard and the savings of reducing your general waste volumes.
Hiring equipment also gives you greater flexibility in terms of scaling up, moving site, and modernising when your processes need more advanced kit.
BENEFITS
Our professional service, tailored to your business needs can offer:
Specialist advice
Specialist early-stage advice on how best to meet your individual waste processing needs
Invoicing & reporting
Consolidated invoicing & bespoke recycling performance reports to demonstrate compliance & support your company’s environmental credentials
Invoicing & reporting
Consolidated invoicing & bespoke recycling performance reports to demonstrate compliance & support your company’s environmental credentials
Collections
Scheduled or ad hoc collections depending on your requirements
Specialist advice
Specialist early-stage advice on how best to meet your individual waste processing needs
Invoicing & reporting
Consolidated invoicing & bespoke recycling performance reports to demonstrate compliance & support your company’s environmental credentials
Collections
Scheduled or ad hoc collections depending on your requirements