Looking for occ (old corrugated containers) cardboard bales? Browse live listings from suppliers across the US.
Browse ListingsAbout OCC (Old Corrugated Containers) Cardboard Bales
An OCC bale is used corrugated containers with liners of test liner, jute or kraft, compressed and wire-tied for shipment to a paper mill. The grade is #11 OCC in the ISRI Scrap Specifications Circular, which caps prohibitive materials at 1% and total outthrows at 5% of the bale.
Unlike mixed paper, an OCC bale is one fiber type: brown corrugated that mills pulp back into linerboard and medium. Sorted office paper is printing and writing paper, not corrugated. Double-sorted OCC (#12) is a separate grade with a second sort that removes non-corrugated fiber.
Wax-coated boxes are prohibitive in OCC and the most common reason a load is downgraded or rejected. Mills prefer mill-size bales from a horizontal baler; bales from a vertical baler are accepted by some mills and many brokers, so confirm the bale spec before the first load.
What to Look For When Buying
- No wax-coated boxes, plastic film or foam in the bale
- Dry fiber with no mold or water-soaked layers
- Bales tight and square with wire ties intact
- Bale size and weight the receiving mill accepts
- Outthrows such as boxboard and mixed paper within the grade limit
Ideal For
- Containerboard mill feedstock
- Recycling brokers building truckloads
- Retailers and distribution centers selling baled boxes
Buying Tips
- Confirm the mill or broker's bale spec before the first load
- Ask the seller for bale weight and count per load
- Inspect a sample bale face for wax boxes and film
- Expect a moisture test at the mill and deductions for wet bales
- Weigh loads at a certified scale, since bales trade by weight
What buyers pay
$64.86average per unit, $0.38 to $129.71