Doing Things Differently: Effective Cardboard and LDPE Plastic Processing

At The Plant, Bubbly Dynamics implements a robust waste-processing system that removes old corrugated cardboard (OCC) and low-density polyethylene film (LDPE) from the conventional waste stream.

Instead of commingling cardboard in a recycling dumpster, where it typically becomes contaminated and sent to the landfill, we ensure that every scrap of material is reused by baling it on-site and processing through Mid America Paper Recycling, which is located just a few miles away from The Plant. The baled OCC and LDPE collected from Dec. 2021- Mar. 2024 filled a semi -- not packed but quite full -- that was hauled off for responsible recycling.

We then evaluated the savings from *not* "recycling" the OCC and from *not* disposing the tricky-to-recycle LDPE through the conventional waste stream, while considering the income from selling these valuable materials to the recycler. When factoring in staff and equipment expenses to bale the materials on-site, which is necessary for handling the LDPE and which results in a higher-value product than loose OCC, our net additional cost for responsibly recycling these materials came out to be approx. $60/month. This is a modest cost for ensuring that these useful materials are not prematurely considered “waste.”