Types of shredded cardboard packaging material

Cardboard shredders produce sustainable cardboard packaging material. The most common are cardboard netting or mats, but some shredders can also convert cardboard into strips or chips. What are the different types of shredded cardboard you can make with a cardboard shredder and how to use it as packaging material? We’ll go through it in this article.

The photos (made by Recycling.com) show samples of shredded cardboard made with machines from Cushion Pack, HyPro and HSM.

Different types of cardboard filling material

Cardboard shredders can produce four different types of cardboard padding or wrapping material. Each type of material has its own specific characteristic and application. Below we go through the types of shredded cardboard.

1. Flattened material
2. Cushioned material
3. Cardboard strips (long)
4. Cardboard chips (short)

Video that shows the types of shredded and perforated cardboard

Type	Characteristics
Flat cardboard netting mats Check large photo	Application: Used for wrapping a product to be shipped or as void fill to fill empty space in a box or packaging. Flat cardboard filling mats with perforated pattern Almost dust-free Flexible Shock absorbing Provides a protective layer around the product. It protects the item against shocks and bumps during transport. Creates a protective layer between articles. Suitable for light to medium-weight products. Alternative to bubble wrap.
Cushioned cardboard netting mats Check large photo	Application: Used as void fill to fill empty space in a box or packaging. Padded, voluminous cardboard filling mats with a perforated pattern Almost dust-free Flexible Less easy to roll than flat netting mats Shock absorbing Provides a protective layer around the product. It protects the item against shocks and bumps during transport. Creates a protective layer between articles. Suitable for heavy-weight products. Alternative to bubble wrap.
Cardboard strips Check large photo	Application: Used as void fill to fill empty space in smaller boxes or packages. Also suitable as a decorative filling. Long thin cardboard strips Shock absorbing Resilient Proportionally heavier than cardboard netting mats Very flexible Protects the product against shocks and impacts Suitable for light products Alternative to sizzle pack or filling chips (packing peanuts).
Cardboard chips Check large photo	Application: Used as void fill to fill empty spaces in smaller boxes or packages. Small shreds of cardboard Easy to deposit in a box Saves time Proportionally heavier than cardboard netting mats Shock absorbing Protects the product against shocks and impacts Suitable for light products Alternative to sizzle pack or filling chips (packing peanuts). Note: The size and quality of the chips differ per manufacturer.

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What can you use shredded cardboard for?

For which purposes can you use shredded or perforated cardboard? We’ll go through five useful applications:

#1 Protective inner layer

Cardboard nettings mats are perfect for creating an extra protective inner layer inside the shipping box. The cardboard protects the item from bumps and shocks during transportation.

#2 Wrapping items

Cardboard perforated mats are ideal to wrap items in. Especially flat netting is useful to use as wrapping.  Cardboard shredders automatically cut off excess cardboard, this means you can make custom-sized packaging material that fits perfectly into the shipping box.

#3 Separate items inside a box

Keep loos items separated from each other with cardboard perforated mats. In addition to the cardboard having a dampening effect against shocks and bumps, the cardboard also ensures that items do not touch each other.

#4 Fill up empty spaces in a box

Cardboard mats, cardboard strips, and cardboard shreds are suitable for filling empty spaces in the shipping box. This is why it is also called void-fill. By filling the empty spaces you make sure that the item to be shipped cannot bounce around in the box and it offers an extra protective layer around the item.

Mats are more suitable for larger boxes or larger and heavier items. The strips and shreds are more suitable for smaller packaging or lighter products.

It is important to know that cardboard netting mats have more volume in comparison to strips or chips. This ensures less weight in the shipping box, which results in lower transport costs. Filling a box with loose shreds or strips requires a lot more material, which results in more weight in the box and higher shipping costs.

#5 Decorative filling material

Finally, cardboard strips or chips can serve as a decorative filling material inside the shipping box. It has a sustainable and clean appearance, the best material type to use is the short cardboard strips.

Questions about shredded cardboard

Is shredder cardboard able to protect fragile items?

In the video below we show how shredded cardboard is able to protect fragile items in a cardboard shipping box. We’ve used cardboard netting mats to pack two coffee cups. We then drop the box from a great distance and see what happens in the video.

The drop test really shows that the cup are well-protected by the cardboard packaging. The cardboard nets provide excellent protection for fragile goods.

Is the material 100% dust-free?

No, the material is never completely dust-free. Cardboard is a natural product that consists of wood fibers that can become loose when tearing, shaking or cutting the shredded or perforated cardboard.

Can a cardboard shredder produce multiple types of shredded cardboard?

No, most cardboard shredders can only produce cardboard mats. Basically, these machines are ‘cardboard perforators’. A cardboard shredder that is able to produce strips or chips is more exceptional and is only offered by a few manufacturers.

Also please note, it is important to know that a cardboard shredder can only produce one type of shredder material. It is therefore not an all-in-one solution for making multiple types of filling material or packaging material.

Can any product be packed with shredded cardboard?

No, that’s because shredded or perforated cardboard is flexible and has a damping effect. Therefore it can never replace protective hard corner pieces, for example. Nor can it replace dust-free packaging material, such as polystyrene foam blocks.

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