How can I reuse or recycle … lots of cardboard tubes?

I’ve had an email from Andrew Urban:

I have something that needs to be recycle and actually is recyclable but maybe companies will charge a lot to take them.

It’s a 12″ long 3″ wide non-corrugated cardboard tube. My company uses around 3,000 a week of these tubes and we need a environmentally friendly way to dispose of them.

We have considered using a wood chipper to chop them into smaller pieces and then send them to a landfill but that will only solve our waste issue not our recycling issue.

This is probably on a lot bigger scale than most of the commenters on this site usually think about but if anyone’s got any ideas at all, post a comment below and maybe Andrew and his company will be able to scale it up and save all that landfill space.

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150 Responses to “How can I reuse or recycle … lots of cardboard tubes?”


  1. Matthew Patterson says:

    Just wondering if you ever got sorted out with your Cardboard Tube problems? I realise this was written in 2006, and I hope that what ever your company produces you have made it through what have been a few tought years.

    our way around carboard tubing was to agree a contract with a local recycling company to hire a bailer on site to bale the tubes, reducing it in volume by 80%. good grade cardboard is around 90-100 £ per ton, so the cost of the baler is decucted from the revenue and we get a monthly payback

  2. Jo Greer says:

    Vermiculture uses a lot of cardboard and waste and turns it into useable soil for starting and growing plants. I just have a small operation and can’t keep up with the demand.

  3. dan says:

    I have cores.

  4. Tudor Ciupei says:

    Not knowing if this is still active, but I am looking for 1 meter or longer cardboard tubes and I am willing to pay transport if you will send them. Let me know if you have any idea where I can get my hands on some cardboard tubes.

  5. Tracey w says:

    Hi, we have 50 different sized cardboard tubes which are the rolls which hold vinyl material for cutting sticky backed labels. The rolls are various sizes and in good dry condition. Happy to discuss further

  6. penninegilly says:

    Your local Scrap Store will love to take these off your hands!

    Scrap Stores accept random and varied stuff from businesses….things that would otherwise be chucked out.

    Then local community groups, child care workers, schools, nurseries, uniformed organisations …..and the general public too ….can come along and buy them!

    Your rolls would be brilliant for an out of school club….so much fun to be had…..

    I ADORE scrap stores…and would be very surprised if your local one isn’t interested.

  7. PaulB says:

    Our company generate around 300+ cardboard tubes per week. We are in Derbyshire.
    Would anyone be interested in this volume of cardboard tubes?



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