By John E. Weare, Keep Alliance Beautiful
ALLIANCE, Neb. - Cardboard gathers no dust at the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center. That’s saying something given the amount of dirt that blows through our part of the building on an average day. Once inside, our crew quickly and efficiently compresses corrugated cardboard and fiberboard in two balers from pickups, trailers and totes. There is no room for stockpiling as we have a constant flow – more than 600,000 pounds collected, baled and shipped in 2025.
Recently, I came back to the office and read a note to call Jessica Campbell, a cardboard broker, about buying our most popular material. The message was intriguing since our cardboard had always gone to Western Resources Group (WRG) the seven-plus years I have worked at KAB. I was surprised that somebody was approaching us, maybe representing another sales option?
Upon reaching Jessica on the phone at Centennial Recycling in Aurora, Colo., we soon realized that she already handled our cardboard through a relationship with WRG. “I haven’t had any complaints at the mills,” she said of our bales. “. . . I’ve worked with Western Resources Group for years and years. (We’re) getting the vast majority of their cardboard. Given their volume we’re able to give them more on pricing.”
Centennial is strictly a brokerage. Jessica and her husband operate the business with two other partners. They don’t handle, process or transport recyclables, rather “I’m technically the middleman,” she said. They work with a lot of big mill groups, multi-million dollar companies, that may want 10 million pounds of cardboard at a time. On the other end their services “help out places that would be ignored by big companies,” Jessica commented. “(We’re) here to put it all together so other people can focus on what they’re good at.”
Volumes companies ask for fluctuate a lot, Jessica explained while describing 2025 in particular as “quite a headache”. She said you need a plan A, B, and C, then sometimes a D. Her worst situation is where everyone is full. One major mill was down for months. In the business for 12 years Jessica said she has seen it all – highs and lows.
A couple mills in Oklahoma have been likely destinations for KAB cardboard. The main one produces the cardboard that lines sheetrock. Whether a mill is set up for corrugated or cereal boxes (actually composed of many ultrathin layers) changes the recipe and desired inputs. She also mentioned a paper producer in Wisconsin that had retrofitted a logging mill.
Jessica works with domestic customers and locations saying exporting is not the first or best option.
Cardboard is a key component though Centennial does broker transactions for other materials too. She has worked with Firstar in Omaha on paper and a range of recyclables at WRG. “Metals can fluctuate quickly on a day-to-day basis. I move some tin and aluminum and all grades of plastic – separate and combined.”
At KAB we pay to transport materials. Only three help offset the cost. Milk jugs, undyed High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), and aluminum cans are the most valuable earning cash by the pound. Cardboard is sold by the ton. Jessica offered a cautiously optimistic assessment for our patrons’ favorite recyclable. “Cardboard has steadied out a bit. It went down a bit. I hope we turned a corner. Pricing will come up. I don’t know when.”
Who knew that Amazon box needed a little extra help finding its second (third? fourth?) life after leaving Alliance? Thanks middle(wo)man.