If A Used Box Will Do, We Don't Sell A New One.
That's the entire pledge in one sentence. The rest of this page is the math, the audits, the commitments, and the awkward bits we'd rather you not skip.
What we'll always do.
If a reconditioned gaylord can do the job, we recommend it. We do sell new boxes when the spec demands it (food contact, medical, specific load ratings), but used is the default proposal on every quote.
Every January we publish the percentage of inbound cardboard that left our yard reused, refurbished, or domestically recycled — versus landfilled or incinerated. The number is third-party audited.
Boxes that can't be reused get baled and shipped to certified North American mills. We do not export waste paper overseas. Period. The paperwork on every load reflects that.
If a customer wants sustainability claims for their own reporting, we provide the math, the source, and the assumptions. We do not invent a carbon credit or a 'green seal' that didn't come from an auditor.
Where the numbers come from.
We treat the carbon claim like an engineer would treat a load rating: assumptions documented, units explicit, sources cited.
Per-box embodied carbon
The figure we use is 7.2 lbs CO₂-equivalentper new heavy-duty 40×48×36 gaylord, drawn from the U.S. EPA's WARM model and the EPA Paper & Paperboard chapter. That bundle includes pulping, manufacturing, and average inbound transportation to a Midwest customer.
Per-box reuse savings
Every time we put a used gaylord back into circulation instead of a new one, we count those 7.2 lbs as avoided emissions. We do not double-count subsequent reuses — a box that goes out a second time is credited once, not twice.
Tree equivalence
For the "trees not pulped" stat, we use 18 boxes per pulpable hardwood tree (40-year softwood mix), which is consistent with the Forest Stewardship Council's published averages for kraft liner stock.
The awkward part
When boxes can't be reused — soaked, contaminated, or below grade — we don't pretend they didn't exist. They show up in the recycling column of our diversion report, not in the reuse column. Honest math beats a flattering chart.
How carbon avoidance breaks down across what we sell.
| Category | Volume 2024 | Avoided CO₂e (tons) | Trees not pulped | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used double-wall standard | 184,200 units | 662 | 10,233 | Highest volume category |
| Used triple-wall heavy | 87,600 units | 473 | 4,866 | Auto, polymer dense |
| Used octagonal / octabin | 26,800 units | 167 | 1,488 | Polymer, powder, F&B |
| Used half-height | 32,400 units | 91 | 1,800 | Auto small-parts |
| Reconditioned (refinishing line) | 41,300 units | 148 | 2,293 | Saved from recycle |
| New (sold w/ certified content) | 9,200 units | n/a | n/a | Where new is required |
| Recycled (OCC baled) | 1,142 tons | 1,250 (downstream) | 17,800 | Domestic mills only |
| 2024 total avoided | — | ~2,800 | ~38,500 | Audited Q1 2025 |
Carbon avoidance is calculated using EPA WARM model embodied carbon (7.2 lbs CO₂e per new heavy-duty gaylord, 0.4–0.9 lbs transport) and audited by a regional waste-stream consultancy. We do not double-count subsequent reuses of the same box.
The frameworks we work inside, the certifications we carry, and what they actually mean.
Voluntary program for businesses tracking and reducing solid waste. We've been registered since 2018; our 2024 metrics were featured in the program's regional case study.
Forest Stewardship Council certification covering paper sourcing. We can provide chain-of-custody on new-box orders sourced from FSC-certified mills.
Sustainable Forestry Initiative equivalent. We hold this for orders to customers whose ESG framework references SFI specifically.
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Sets the OCC bale grading standards we use; we audit against ISRI Spec #11 quarterly.
Environmental management system standard. We are in year two of a three-year certification process, expected complete in early 2027.
Our facility upgrades since 2022 (LED, baler efficiency, HVAC) have us tracking against ENERGY STAR for industrial recyclers.
Questions customers ask before the audit cycle starts.
Will reused boxes satisfy our recycled-content requirement?
Can I get a per-shipment carbon footprint?
How is the diversion rate audited?
Do you participate in extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs?
What's your stance on single-use packaging?
Can you help us write our own packaging sustainability claim?
Do you measure water?
Is your recycling stream verified domestic?
What's the highest diversion rate is theoretically possible?
Do you offset your own operational carbon?
Every January, the number is the number.
We publish a full sustainability report annually in January, covering the prior calendar year. The report includes audited diversion rate, embodied-carbon avoidance by category, water savings via upstream avoided manufacturing, energy use at the facility, and any material program changes during the year.
Reports going back to 2018 are available on request. Customers using us for their own ESG reporting can subscribe to receive each year's report automatically.
- 2018: 81.4% diversion (first audited year)
- 2019: 86.2% diversion
- 2020: 88.7% diversion
- 2021: 90.3% diversion
- 2022: 92.1% diversion
- 2023: 93.4% diversion
- 2024: 94.1% diversion (current)