The convenience of home delivery during Covid-19 transformed into the necessity of home delivery. As grocery store shelves emptied of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and groceries, online retailers have seen growth of over 55% this past July versus July 2019.
Already struggling with how to manage the delivery process of packages, there is a secondary impact on the multi-family community manager that might not be considered, at first. Those boxes that are crowding community delivery areas, once delivered to the residents get opened with the enthusiasm of a present on Christmas morning. As the resident rips back the tape to reveal what treasure has arrived, quite often that box is tossed aside once the ordered item is grasped. It is then taken to the dumpster, often in the same shape as it was delivered and deposited into the dumpster.
Not only is cardboard recognized as one of the most valuable recyclable materials on the open market, but only a little over half of it is recycled, instead landing in landfill bound dumpsters. To compound the effect, those same boxes when not broken down create large voids of air in the dumpster, reducing its capacity and increasing the likely hood of overfilling or overflowing the container. An overflowing trash container may result in overage fees as the hauler’s service vehicle will fill up more quickly than planned, leaving unserviced accounts at the end of the route.
There are some real opportunities with cardboard, especially if you are generating a significant amount of cardboard in the waste stream. In those scenarios, the addition of a downstroke, or vertical, baler can be a valuable tool in simplifying a cardboard recycling program and provide the opportunity to monetize the resource. Cardboard is a commodity, and while prices vary by region, you can earn $30-$40 more per ton of baled cardboard vs. loose cardboard.
If you are not sure if you have enough cardboard at your community to justify a baler, think outside the box. Is there retail at your community? Are there neighboring communities that can partner with your community to form a cardboard “Co-op?” Bringing together the cardboard form two or more communities to one site to maximize the amount that can be collected and sold?
Even if you aren’t planning to monetize your cardboard waste stream, at minimum you should reduce the risk identified above of overage fees by having the cardboard removed from landfill bound containers, broken down and placed in recycling containers.
The bottom line is what comes into your apartment community also goes out, if your seeing a glut of boxes being delivered at the front door, they are likely piling up at or in the dumpster at the backdoor. To minimize the impact of that lobby crush of boxes, developing a plan to deal with them from entry to exit is critical to minimize expense.
How have you approached the increase in cardboard arriving at your property or portfolio? Have you implemented cardboard bailing technology to monetize the waste stream? I’m looking forward to our continued conversation, either here or directly.
Stay well