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A cardboard shredder machine can help solve the issue of having used cardboard boxes by providing a way to repurpose the cardboard.
Our farm business recently got the HSM ProfiPack C400 cardboard shredder based on recommendations from two small business colleagues, a candle company and a chai company. Both ship their products in glass and use the shredded cardboard as a cushioned wrap around their products.
We have a lot of extra cardboard between our business and personal shipments we receive. I’ve been looking for a way to make better use of the old boxes, which is why I am excited to try out a cardboard box shredder.
Table of contents
How we use a cardboard shredder for packaging
We are using the shredded cardboard as packing cushion wrap for any fragile items we might ship, including anything in glass, such as our maple syrup or products like jam, honey, or mustard that go with our charcuterie kits.
In comparison, a box of cushion wrap, 24’’x250’, from ULINE is $91 a box. You don’t have to use those annoying packing peanuts either.
We also use the shredded cardboard as fill in the boxes of meat that we ship to our customers. This serves two purposes:
- It keeps the frozen packaged meat from sliding around in the box during shipment. It will help minimize packages from being punctured, or the insulated liner from being damaged.
- When shipping with dry ice, it helps to minimize any open space in the box with “fill.” This will slow down the dry ice from dissipating. We used plastic bubbles in the past, but the shredded cardboard looks nicer and more durable.
Benefits of shredding cardboard
There are several benefits to shredding cardboard boxes:
- It allows us to effectively reuse the boxes
- It replaces the need for purchasing other shipping and packing materials
- It is more sustainable since it’s putting the box to use for another use and customers can still easily recycle it curbside
How the box shredder works
The box shredder is pretty easy to use. First, you’ll need to break down the cardboard box before it’s shredded. Remove any staples and tape. While removing the tape isn’t necessary, it will prevent any issues that might arise from the blades getting gummed up over time.
Then you’ll turn on the box shredder. Lay the box flat into the opening of the shredder, and the machine will pull it through. The result is a perforated sheet of cardboard.
This particular machine doesn’t make shreds like you might see with a paper shredder.
You can run the shredded sheet in the opposite direction and the cardboard will be in small, confetti size shreds.
HSM ProfiPack C400 Specs
The HSM ProfiPack C400 cardboard shredder specs include:
- Cuts up to 0.4 inches thick cardboard, so most standard cardboard boxes
- Cuts up to 16.34 inches in width, but will automatically cut off excess cardboard that can be fed through the shredder after being cut off
- Cuts a single layer of cardboard at a time
- Safety features, where the cutting blades are enclosed inside the machine
- 103 lbs. – it’s a bit on the heavy side. I have it on a cart, but it is helpful to have two people if it needs to be moved.
Where to purchase the ProfiPack shredder
The ProfiPack C400 shredder is available on Amazon.
Note: The link(s) above is an affiliate link.
Video demo of the ProfiPack cardboard shredder
Here’s a video of me walking through how the ProfiPack cardboard shredder works and tips for using it.
FAQs
While some paper shredders can shred cardboard, the material is usually too thick. Over time, paper shredders aren’t durable enough to handle cardboard and may stop working.
Yes, the shredded cardboard would be an alternative to using packing peanuts.
Yes, you can shred cardboard in a wood chipper. In the past we’ve also used shredded cardboard for bedding in our livestock barn, mixed in with straw. We did this using our old wood chipper. The result was small fluffy pieces of cardboard.
Depending on your use for the cardboard this may work. For example, with compost it could be an option. However, for the purpose of using this type of cardboard shreds for packing materials isn’t a great solution since the shreds are small.
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