Cardboard Boxes: The Sustainable Choice for Office Supplies

A bulk box, also known as a bulk bin, skid box, pallet box, bin box, gaylord, or octabin, is a pallet-size box used for storage and shipping of bulk or packaged goods.^[1] Bulk boxes can be designed to hold many different types of items such as plastic pellets, watermelons, electronic components, and even liquids; some bulk boxes are stackable.

In the U.S. and Canada, the term gaylord is sometimes used for triplewall corrugated pallet boxes; this is due to the first bulk bins being manufactured by the original Gaylord Container Company of St. Louis,^[2] which was acquired by Crown Zellerbach of San Francisco in 1955.^[3]^[4]

Construction

Bulk boxes are often made of corrugated fiberboard, either doublewall or triplewall. Many corrugated bulk boxes have covers.^[2] The main body of some is similar to a half slotted container with flaps on the bottom; others have a separate base (similar to the cover) and a sleeve for side walls. Additional corrugated liners and box reinforcement are sometimes used to control bulging.^[5]^[6]

Wooden boxes are also used for bulk packaging; boxes made of aluminum and steel are common in heavy industry. Reusable plastic totes (molded or corrugated plastic) are used for some products and logistics chains.

For some products, inner plastic liners or bin bags are used to protect the contents. Sealed inner bags with integral valves are sometimes used for liquids. Most bulk boxes are recyclable, returnable, or reusable. Some styles of boxes fold (knock down) or come apart for easier return shipments.

Use

Bulk boxes are used for loose parts, mixed small containers, granular materials, powders, liquids, etc. Use in industry is common: shipping and storage of bulk intermediate materials prior to further processing or packaging. They are sometimes used to collect and ship materials for recycling and waste.

When used to ship hazardous waste or dangerous goods, box construction and use are highly regulated.

ASTM standards

D5168 Standard Practice for Fabrication and Closure of Triple-wall Corrugated Containers
D6179 Standard Test Methods for Rough Handling of Unitized Loads and Large Shipping Cases and Crates
D6251 Standard Specification for Wood-Cleated Panelboard Shipping Boxes
D6254 Standard Specification for Wirebound Pallet-Type Wood Boxes
D6256 Standard Specification for Wood-Cleated Shipping Boxes and Skidded, Load-Bearing Bases
D6573 Standard Specification for General Purpose Wirebound Shipping Boxes
D6880-05 Standard Specification for wooden boxes

References

^ Soroka, W (2008). Illustrated Glossary of Packaging Terms. Institute of Packaging Professionals. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-930268-27-2.
^ ^a ^b "What is a Gaylord box?". Welch Packaging. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
^ "Zellerbach, Gaylord tie". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 22, 1955. p. 8, part 2.
^ "Crown Zellerbach-Gaylord merger". Miami News. Dow Jones News Service. November 23, 1955. p. 9B.
^ US 4702408, Powlenko, Edward J., "Bulk bin", published 1987-10-27, assigned to The Mead Corp.
^ US 6074331, Ruggiere, Sr., Thomas S.; Douda, Marvin A. & Ruggiere, Jr., Thomas S. et al., "Paperboard container reinforcing method", published 2000-06-13, assigned to Con Pac South Inc.


General topics	Active packaging Child-resistant packaging Contract packager Edible packaging Modified atmosphere/modified humidity packaging Overpackaging Package delivery Package pilferage Package testing Package theft Packaging engineering Resealable packaging Reusable packaging Reuse of bottles Shelf life Shelf-ready packaging Shelf-stable Sustainable packaging Tamper-evident Tamper resistance Wrap rage
Product packages	Alternative wine closure Ammunition box Banana box Beer bottle Box wine Case-ready meat Coffee bag Cosmetic packaging Currency packaging Disposable food packaging Drink can Egg carton Evidence packaging Field ration Flour sack Foam food container Food packaging Fuel container Gas cylinder Glass milk bottle Growler Juicebox Low plastic water bottle Luxury packaging Milk bag Optical disc packaging Oyster pail Popcorn bag Pharmaceutical packaging Pizza box Plastic milk container Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags Sand bag Seasonal packaging Self-heating food packaging Screw cap (wine) Single-serve coffee container Spray paint Toothpaste pump dispenser Unit dose Water bottle Wine bottle
Containers	Aerosol spray dispenser Aluminium bottle Aluminum can Ampoule Antistatic bag Bag-in-box Bag Barrel Biodegradable bag Blister pack Boil-in-bag Bottle Box Bulk box Cage Case Carboy Carton Chub Clamshell Corrugated box design Crate Disposable cup Drum Endcap Envelope Euro container Flexible intermediate bulk container Flexible tank Folding carton Glass bottle Gunny sack Inhaler Insulated shipping container Intermediate bulk container Jar Jerrycan Jug Keg Mesh bag Multilayered packaging Multi-pack Packet (container) Padded envelope Pail Paper bag Paper sack Plastic bag Plastic bottle Retort pouch Salvage drum Sachet Water sachet Security bag Shipping container Shipping tube Skin pack Spray bottle Squround Stand-up pouch Steel and tin cans Tetra Brik Thermal bag Tub (container) Tube Unit load Vial Wooden box
Materials and components	Adhesive Aluminium foil Bail handle Bioplastic Biodegradable plastic BoPET Bubble wrap Bung Cellophane Closure Coated paper Coating Coextrusion Container glass Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated plastic Cushioning Desiccant Double seam Flip-top Foam peanut Gel pack Hot-melt adhesive Humidity indicator card Kraft paper Label Lid Linear low-density polyethylene Liquid packaging board Living hinge Low-density polyethylene Meat absorbent pad Metallised film Modified atmosphere Molded pulp Nonwoven fabric Overwrap Oxygen scavenger Package handle Packaging gas Pallet Paper Paper pallet Paperboard Plastic-coated paper Plastic film Plastic pallet Plastic wrap Polyester Polyethylene Polypropylene Pressure-sensitive tape Pump dispenser Screw cap Screw cap (wine) Security printing Security tape Shock detector Shock and vibration data logger Shrink wrap Slip sheet Staple (fastener) Strapping Stretch wrap Susceptor Tamper-evident band Tear tape Temperature data logger Time temperature indicator Tinplate Velostat
Processes	Aseptic processing Authentication Automatic identification and data capture Blow fill seal Blow molding Calendering Canning Coating Containerization Converting Corona treatment Curtain coating Die cutting Die forming (plastics) Electronic article surveillance Extrusion Extrusion coating Flame treatment Glass production Graphic design Hazard analysis and critical control points Hermetic seal Induction sealing Injection moulding Lamination Laser cutting Molding Package tracking Papermaking Plastic extrusion Plastic welding Printing Product development Production control Quality assurance Radio-frequency identification Roll slitting Shearing (manufacturing) Thermoforming Track and trace Ultrasonic welding Vacuum forming Vacuum packaging Verification and validation
Machinery	Barcode printer Barcode reader Bottling line Calender Can seamer Cap torque tester Cartoning machine Case sealer Check weigher Conveyor system Drum pump Extended core stretch wrapper Filler Heat gun Heat sealer Industrial robot Injection molding machine Label printer applicator Lineshaft roller conveyor Logistics automation Material-handling equipment Mechanical brake stretch wrapper Multihead weigher Orbital stretch wrapper Packaging machinery Pallet inverter Palletizer Rotary wheel blow molding systems Seed-counting machine Shrink tunnel Staple gun Tape dispenser Turntable stretch wrapper Vertical form fill sealing machine
Environment, post-use	Biodegradation Can collecting Closed-loop box reuse Environmental engineering Glass recycling Industrial ecology Life-cycle assessment Litter Packaging waste Paper recycling PET bottle recycling Plastic recycling Recycling Reusable packaging Reverse logistics Source reduction Sustainable packaging Waste management
Category: Packaging

Cardboard Boxes: The Sustainable Choice for Office Supplies

Cardboard boxes for pet food transport