A great day for any business here in Australia is when you get a lot of customers, enough that you need to order more supplies and then organise those supplies before the day ends. Then, it rains when you get home and rest through the night. But what could ruin such an amazing day is when you return to work the next morning and realise that the cardboard boxes you stored in the recycling bins are now soaking wet. It can make you wonder, “Can wet cardboard be recycled in Australia?” Will a Melbourne cardboard recycling company accept it?
Tough situation, we understand. You could lay it all out in the open and wait for it to dry out on its own. However, what if it rains again? The constant exposure to water and moisture in general could reduce your chances of having the cardboard accepted by the local council during garbage collection day.
Is Wet Cardboard Recyclable?
The short answer is no. If anyone sees that your cardboard is still wet while you’re trying to dispose of it, they would likely decline to take it for a lot of reasons.
1. Fear of Mold and Bacteria
The first thing that recyclers worry about is the possible growth of mould and bacteria on the material. Mould is known to spread like the plague, and you cannot always see it. That is especially true if you have a tall pile of wet cardboard to dispose of. Instead of sorting through everything, they might simply say no to taking it and leave you to deal with the mess.
2. Lack of Structural Integrity
Apart from helping the environment become a better place, the other goal of recycling facilities is to turn trash into new paper products. If the cardboard that you are trying to dispose of has been saturated with water, it means that its structural integrity has been compromised. The fibres that are supposed to interlock and keep the paper from being easily damaged may now be too weak to go through the recycling process and produce durable products.
3. Substance Contamination
Another question that your local recyclers might have is if the wet cardboard has been contaminated with prohibited substances. We are not talking about illegal drugs — we are talking more about oils, plastics, and other chemicals that basically could not dissolve in water.
The reason is that such contaminants negatively affect the recycling process. They could damage the machinery if it could not handle non-recyclable materials. It’s also possible that it could weaken the new paper products if left undetected.
In Conclusion
Whether your wet cardboard is recyclable or not will depend on how wet it is or how long it has been in that situation. Thus, the best solution is to contact your local council first and ask if they could help you recycle the packaging properly. If they say no and you still need help with recycling cardboard in Melbourne or nearby areas, don’t hesitate to contact us. We would be happy to assist you and give you a quote.
