Thousands of large and small cardboard boxes are collected and recycled just a few days after the holidays. 鈥淭his week鈥檚 been pretty busy,鈥� said Leroy Sparrow, the Solid Waste Director in Tyler. 鈥淭he guys told me they鈥檝e been pulling about five bales of cardboard a day.鈥�
For the majority of recycling centers, like the one in Tyler, two bales a day is the status quo. 鈥淥nce we have 40 bales, this is a perfect area, we stack them here,鈥� said Sparrow, gesturing to an outdoor space. 鈥淲e contact Evergreen who is our current vendor, and they鈥檒l come with a semi – 18 wheeler – and haul them to whichever closest mill that needs it.鈥�
On average, one bale can hold up to 800 pounds of cardboard. According to a report from recycling non-profit The Recycling Partnership, American households throw out 76 percent of items that could have been recycled.