Housekeeping · 분리배출·정리

Sort Delivery Cardboard in 6 Steps: Remove Labels, Tape and Flatten

Before recycling delivery boxes, check private labels, separate packing materials, remove loose tape and flatten the cardboard. Always follow your local collection rules.

AI-edited · Human admin approved

Wikimedia Commons · © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0; source photo was lightened before its Commons publication; this reuse unmodified · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗

Guidance is cross-checked against Korean ministry information, US EPA cardboard advice and Recycle Now's tape guidance. Collection rules for labels and tape vary by locality. The illustrative photograph shows flat banker's boxes, not a household recycling demonstration.

Your try-it-at-home checklist

0 / 6 done

1. Empty the carton completely. Separate packing slips, plastic wrap, air cushions and foam from the cardboard and sort each under local collection rules.
2. Find labels with names, addresses, phone numbers and tracking barcodes. Peel them off or make the personal details unreadable before disposal.
3. Remove long strips of plastic packing tape and loose stickers where practical. Do not assume plastic tape belongs in the paper recycling stream; check local guidance.
4. Check for water damage or heavy food contamination. Heavily soiled cardboard may need different treatment according to the collection program.
5. Open the box along existing folds and flatten it to save space. Use fold lines instead of reaching immediately for a knife, and watch for sharp staples or cut edges.
6. Put clean, dry flattened cardboard at your designated collection point. Keep boxes for reuse only when sound and dry; check the carrier's box and label rules before shipping again.

Korean Ministry of Environment택배 종이상자, 올바른 분리배출 위해 업계와 맞손 ↗Official April 8, 2020 announcement urging correct parcel-cardboard separation and industry education; did not assume this historical announcement sets universal current municipal detail.Korean Ministry of Environment8월 폐의류 수출 회복세, 공동주택 분리배출 품질도 개선 추진 ↗Official guidance references removing packing tape and stickers from parcel boxes. Local instructions still govern.US EPAWhat You Can Do to Improve the Recycling Rate ↗EPA recommends clean/dry recyclables and emptying/flattening cardboard boxes.Recycle NowSticky tape ↗UK recycling information: sticky tape is not normally recycled with paper and loose strands should be removed from cardboard.Wikimedia CommonsFile:Unassembled banker's boxes.JPG ↗Creator BrokenSphere; permitted CC BY-SA 3.0 license, requested author credit, file indicates image lightened; original image opened and visually reviewed.Wikimedia CommonsCommons:Reusing content outside Wikimedia/technical ↗Separate legal basis: direct hotlinking permitted, with individual file license/credit still required.

Your try-it-at-home checklist

Further reading

You may also like

Six steps to rotate—not flip—a Sealy Posturepedic mattress

Six steps to clean Andersen sliding patio-door tracks and rollers

Six steps to reduce kitchen-sponge cross-contamination