A Complete Guide to Recycling Cardboard Boxes in NYC

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NYC recycling rules for cardboard in homes, apartments & businesses

Co-authored by Kathryn Kellogg and Bailey Cho

Last Updated: July 24, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Curbside Recycling
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• Apartment Recycling
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• Tips

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Recycling is required by law in NYC, and luckily, the NYC recycling rules make it fairly easy to get rid of your cardboard boxes! In apartment buildings, renters often collect cardboard in a paper bag or cardboard box, then drop it off at a central recycling area when it’s full. Homes, schools, and other institutions place recycling in clear bags or bins labeled with free decals, then leave it on the curb for pickup the night before their scheduled recycling collection day. We'll give you the full rundown for both situations!

NYC Cardboard Recycling Cheat Sheet

• Remove as much tape as possible from your cardboard boxes, then flatten and tie them into 18-inch (46 cm) bundles or smaller with twine for curbside pickup.
• Or, place cardboard boxes in clear, untinted plastic bags or labeled bins. If you live in an apartment, bring your boxes to your building’s central recycling area.
• Look up your recycling collection day on NYC’s sanitation page. Put your recycling on the curb in front of your building the night before, between 8 PM and midnight.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using an NYC Curbside Recycling Program

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1. 
   1
   Find your scheduled recycling collection day on NYC’s sanitation page. Type in the street address for your home, school, or business to find your collection day. Generally, recycling is picked up once a week for homes, businesses, and agencies. Schools may have several days of collection during the week.

   • If you can’t find the recycling collection day for your address, dial 311 to call the Sanitation Department and get more details.
2. 
   2
   Separate your recyclables into 2 categories. Mixed paper and cardboard go together in one category, which includes egg cartons, lightly soiled pizza boxes, smooth cardboard (such as food and shoes boxes, tubes, file folders, and cardboard from product packaging), and corrugated cardboard boxes (like moving boxes). The second category includes glass, metal, and plastic.

   • Paper with staples or window envelopes can be recycled with the rest of your mixed paper.
   • Mixed paper also includes mail, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, phone books, paper bags, wrapping paper, and shredded and scrap paper.
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3. 
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   Don’t recycle boxes with food or soiled paper products inside. Check your takeout and pizza boxes for any leftover food, soft or spoiled paper, wax paper, or plastic-coated paper products. Cut away any soiled pieces before collapsing and recycling your cardboard boxes. If the cardboard is greasy or heavily-soiled, throw it away with your regular trash.

   • For example, to recycle a pizza box correctly, discard the soiled liner and recycle the plastic supporter with rigid plastics.
4. 
   4
   Remove all tape, then flatten and tie your cardboard into bundles. Take off as much tape as possible from your cardboard boxes and packaging. Collapse and fold large boxes or sheets of corrugated cardboard, then tie them up with twine. Bundles of flattened cardboard should be 18 inches (46 cm) tall or shorter.

   • Always use twine, not tape, to secure the cardboard bundles—it’s more easily recyclable and eco-friendly.
   • If you don’t have twine, cut your cardboard into small pieces and place them in a clear, untinted bag or your recycling bin.
5. 
   5
   Or, place your cardboard in clear plastic bags or labeled bins for recycling. Cut your cardboard into small pieces, then place it in a clear, untinted bag between 13 gallons (49 L) and 66 gallons (250 L), or a recycling bin that is 32 gallons (120 L) or less with green labels on both sides and the lid. Make sure your bag or bin weighs less than 60 pounds (27 kg).

   • Do not use cardboard boxes as bins.
   • If you use a bin, make sure it’s durable, leak-proof, and has a tight-fitting lid.
   • Sanitation provides decal labels for free, which you can order through their website. Use green stickers for cardboard and mixed paper, and blue stickers for metal, glass, and plastic.
6. 
   6
   Put your recycling on the curb the night before your collection day. If you’re recycling cardboard in a bin with a secured lid, place it on the curb in front of your building between 6 PM and midnight on the night before collection. If you’re using a plastic bag or tying your cardboard into bundles, place them on the curb between 8 PM and midnight.

   • If your scheduled collection day falls on a holiday, Sanitation will collect it the following week.
   • Make sure your recycling doesn’t block the street, and only put it on the curb the night before your collection day to avoid a fine.
   • There’s no limit to the amount of recyclables you can put out for collection, so stack your recycling materials as high as you need to.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Recycling in NYC Apartment Buildings

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1. 
   1
   Ask your landlord about recycling rules and accessibility. By law, landlords are required to provide all tenants with clear recycling instructions and an accessible central recycling area. Upon moving into the building or with each lease renewal, communicate with your landlord about updated recycling information.

   • Your landlord should have flyers, brochures, checklists, information packets, or signs that show you what and where to recycle.
2. 
   2
   Collect all your cardboard in a clear bag, paper bag, or cardboard box. Keep it in a central location, such as the kitchen or next to the front door. Use it to store all the paper and cardboard or mixed paper recycling you collect.
3. 
   3
   Bring your recycling to your building’s central recycling area and sort it. Once you’ve brought your recycling to the building’s central recycling area, make sure to put your cardboard in the right bin. Follow any signage and instructions posted in the area before dropping your bag or box of recycling materials into the directed bin.

   • Generally, recycling areas are located within the trash disposal area. If not, your landlord must post signs in the trash disposal area directing tenants to the recycling area.
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Tips

• If you think that Sanitation missed a collection, call 311 the day afterward, starting at 8 AM, to request a collection service. Regular collection schedules may be delayed because of snow storms or extreme weather, which cannot be reported as a missed collection.
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• If you miss your recycling day, break down your cardboard boxes and place them on the curb the night before the next pickup. If you can’t wait until then, post them on Facebook Marketplace or Freecycle NYC to see if anyone wants to pick them up.
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• Check if you can donate used moving boxes at Goodwill, Salvation Army, or local schools, libraries, or churches.

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Warning

• By law, you cannot take any items that other residents have put out for pickup. Authorized employees and agents of the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) are the only people who can collect them.