Resources & guides
No fluff. These are the same answers we give buyers on the phone we don't have — written down, in plain English, by people who move a million boxes a year.
Can't find your answer?
Ask us directly — every message reaches a human.
Start here
Four core reads, plus a growing FAQ. Together they cover the whole life of a box — what it is, how to buy it, how to reuse it, and how to recycle it when it's spent.
What Are Gaylord Boxes?
The definitive plain-English intro — history, construction, sizes and uses.
Read →GuideThe Gaylord Box Buying Guide
How to buy the right box once: grades, specs, quantities and freight.
Read →ExplainerReuse vs. Recycle: Which Wins?
Why reuse beats recycling for cost and carbon — and when to do each.
Read →How-toHow to Recycle Corrugated
Bale, sort and recover OCC the right way, with a clean diversion trail.
Read →Quick answers → FAQ
Grades, minimums, pickups, freight and more — answered fast.
Need specs? → Size Guide
Dimensions, wall grades and weight charts in one place.
One topic, fully covered
These guides aren't scattered blog posts — they're a deliberate topic cluster. One pillar explains the subject; the rest go deep on a single decision and link back.
At the center sits the pillar, What Are Gaylord Boxes? — the plain-English foundation everything else builds on. Around it, three focused guides each own a decision you'll actually face: how to buy the right box once, whether to reuse or recycle, and how to recycle corrugated properly.
Wrapped around the articles are our reference tools — the size guide for exact dimensions and the grade glossary for strength ratings — plus the services that put the advice to work: buying, selling, recycling and the Reuse Loop. Read top-down or jump straight to your question.
What are you trying to do?
Skip the reading order — pick the outcome you're after and we'll point you at the exact guides, tools and services for it.
I need to buy boxes
Match a box to your load without over-buying or under-speccing.
I have surplus to sell
Turn a pile of empties from a disposal cost into revenue.
I need to recycle
Recover clean OCC and build a diversion trail that stands up to an audit.
I need help sizing
Get footprint, height and wall grade right the first time.
Quick answers
The questions we're asked most, answered in a sentence. Follow a card's links for the full story.
How much does a Gaylord hold?
Roughly 500 lb single-wall, 1,500 lb double-wall, and 2,000 lb-plus triple-wall on a pallet.
New or used?
Used wins on price and carbon for most bulk handling; buy new only for virgin fiber, food-grade or print.
What is the standard size?
The 40″ × 48″ GMA footprint, with heights from about 36″ to 48″ depending on your volume.
Can I sell my empties?
Yes — we buy serviceable surplus and arrange pickup, keeping good boxes in circulation.
Talk the trade in six terms
The box world runs on a handful of words. Learn these and every guide, quote and spec sheet reads easier.
Want the full breakdown of strength ratings and wall types? The grade glossary maps each grade to a real load rating, and the size guide decodes every dimension.
- Gaylord box: A pallet-sized corrugated bulk container, typically on a 40″ × 48″ footprint.
- Wall grade: Single, double or triple-wall — the number of fluted layers that sets strength.
- OCC: Old Corrugated Containers — the recycling grade mills buy to make new board.
- Octabin: An eight-sided bulk bin that distributes pressure from free-flowing powders.
- Footprint: The length × width of the box base; it should match your pallet exactly.
- Condition grade: A–D sorting of used boxes, from like-new (A) to functional but rough (D).
Who these boxes move for
Gaylords are quietly everywhere. Here's where they earn their keep — and where our guides map directly onto real operations.
Agriculture & produce
Bulk bins for onions, potatoes, citrus and nuts from field to packhouse.
Recycling & waste
Collecting shredded plastic, e-scrap, metal turnings and OCC for baling.
Manufacturing
Resin, castings and components in; finished goods out in the same format.
Food & ingredients
Flour, sugar and spices in food-grade liners inside octabins.
E-commerce returns
The giant consolidation bins in every returns and reverse-logistics center.
Moving & storage
Oversized, durable containers for bulky household and archive loads.
Resource library questions
A few meta-questions about the guides themselves. For product and service questions, the main FAQ goes wider.
Where should I start if I've never bought a Gaylord before?
Do you sell the boxes these guides describe?
Are these guides specific to California?
How do I ask a question these articles don't answer?
Keep going
Where to head next once you've found your starting point.
Got boxes to move — or a dock to fill?
Whether you are buying, selling, or recycling, one email starts it all.