“Recover and Reuse” corner board reuse initiative, launched by Recirculated and Marrad, aims to reduce solid waste generation.
Corner boards are a familiar but often overlooked component of palletized shipments across grocery, produce, beverage, and consumer goods supply chains. Used on millions of pallets each year to stabilize loads, they are typically treated as single-use packaging and discarded after one trip. A new initiative launched by Recirculated in partnership with Marrad aims to change that model.
The two companies have announced a West Coast pilot program designed to recover, reuse, and reintroduce corner boards back into active supply chains, converting what has historically been a high-volume waste stream into a reusable packaging asset. The initiative targets a material category that industry estimates suggest amounts to tens of millions of units annually in North America, with 60–75% currently ending up in landfills or incineration.
From single-use to circular component
Under the “Recover and Reuse” program, Marrad consolidates used corner boards at participating retailer distribution centers and manages detailed tracking of material characteristics, along with the associated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) documentation. Recirculated then recovers and processes the boards before returning them to the supply chain for reuse.
The partners describe the model as a practical circular solution that can be implemented without new infrastructure or major operational disruption. According to the companies, the program is projected to deliver a 30–65% cost reduction compared to purchasing new corner boards, while also improving landfill diversion rates, reducing demand for virgin materials, and lowering removal costs at distribution centers.
The initiative also aims to reduce EPR exposure by lowering the volume of packaging placed on the market and generating reuse credits supported by verifiable tracking and reporting.
“This is a simple idea with enormous impact,” said Steve Berger, CEO of Marrad. “Corner boards are everywhere, yet they’ve been treated as disposable for decades. By building a recovery and reuse system around an existing, high-volume packaging component, we can immediately reduce waste, lower costs for customers, and create measurable environmental benefit without waiting for new infrastructure or disruptive technology.”
West Coast rollout aligned with EPR pressure
The pilot is launching initially in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. These are regions where EPR legislation and packaging compliance requirements are advancing most rapidly. The companies position the initiative as a response to growing regulatory pressure as well as rising material and disposal costs.
“Every board reused is one less board reported, one less board fee-bearing, and one less board in landfill,” said David Kalan, President of Recirculated. “EPR is fundamentally about shifting supply chains away from single-use thinking. Reuse is the highest-value outcome in the waste hierarchy, and this initiative delivers that in a practical, scalable way that companies can implement today.”
Invitation to participate
Recirculated and Marrad are actively seeking manufacturers, growers, shippers, and distribution centers across grocery and consumer goods supply chains to participate in upcoming pilot phases as the West Coast rollout expands. The companies emphasize that the program is designed to scale across regions and customer types, with reporting and verification built in from the outset.
Addressing a familiar but under-optimized packaging component
While reusable pallets, totes, and containers have become central to many circular packaging strategies, secondary components such as corner boards have largely remained outside structured reuse systems. By focusing on a widely used but rarely reused item, the Recirculated–Marrad initiative highlights how incremental changes to established packaging practices can deliver measurable economic and environmental benefits.
If successful, the program could provide a model for expanding reuse beyond primary transport packaging and into ancillary materials that move through supply chains at a significant scale.
For more information, reach out to Recirculated or Marrad.
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
