Greater Boston, used gaylord boxes
Gaylord boxes for sale, bought back and reused across Greater Boston
Gaylords from Boston-area docks, reused first and recycled second. Choose a road on the chart or type your town, then say whether you have empties or need boxes.
Tap a road. It names the trades that ship in gaylords there and links its area page.
Reuse first, then OCC
Every gaylord has one of three ends
A sound box goes back into use
Walls that hold, a clean bottom and no soaking: the box goes to the next buyer. Plastics processors, parts shops and farms ask for Grade A and B.
How grades workA worn box becomes clean OCC
When a gaylord has lost its strength, the board is still good fiber. Dry, unsoiled corrugated leaves as old corrugated cardboard instead of in the compactor, which Massachusetts does not allow for recyclable board.
Recycling as OCCWaxed or soiled board is a conversation
RecyclingWorks says waxed cardboard is not a waste ban material and that cardboard soiled with food or liquid should not be recycled. Neither one is a clean reuse or a clean OCC load, so nothing is promised until the details are in.
Waxed and wet boxes
The Massachusetts cardboard ban
What the waste ban means for your dock
Recyclable paper, cardboard and paperboard cannot go to disposal in Massachusetts. A stack of empty gaylords on the dock is therefore a recycling or reuse question, not a dumpster one.
That is the reading of RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts, waste bans and compliance, taken on November 11, 2026. RecyclingWorks has also stated that more than 80 percent of all MassDEP waste ban enforcement is for cardboard; that figure dates from about 2018, so read it as a statement about that period and not as a current count.
For a dock the practical result is simple. Boxes that still stand up are worth selling on, boxes that do not belong in the OCC stream, and both are better than paying for a pull. The dumpster space calculator shows how much room a week of empties takes, and the full ban guide sets out what is covered and what is not.
Read the box
Three things describe every gaylord
- The sides are corrugated board in two to five layers. More layers carry more weight and resist bulging, and the count is the first thing a buyer should state. Wall count, explained
- A full flap bottom closes the base with four flaps and suits loose or heavy loads. A partial flap bottom is for bagged or cartoned goods on a slip sheet. Full and partial bottoms
- The box stands on a pallet, so its footprint should match it: 48 x 40 is the common one, and 48 x 45 and 48 x 48 exist. Every size on the chart
Boxes by spec
Standard footprints and wall counts
| Size | Footprint | Cubic feet | Cubic yards | Specs | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 x 40 x 36 | 48 x 40 pallet | 40 | 1.48 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
| 48 x 40 x 24 | 48 x 40 pallet | 26.7 | 0.99 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
| 48 x 40 x 48 | 48 x 40 pallet | 53.3 | 1.98 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
| 48 x 45 x 40 | 48 x 45 footprint | 50 | 1.85 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
| 48 x 48 x 36 | 48 x 48 pallet | 48 | 1.78 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
| 48 x 48 x 48 | 48 x 48 pallet | 64 | 2.37 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
| 40 x 40 x 40 | 40 x 40 footprint | 37 | 1.37 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
| 36 x 36 x 36 | 36 x 36 footprint | 27 | 1 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
| 46 x 38 x 36 Octagon | 48 x 40 pallet, eight-sided | 36.4 | 1.35 | Specs and uses | Ask to buy |
By wall count: two-wall, three-wall, four-wall and five-wall. By shape: octabins and harvest bins. Lids and liners are on their own page.
Who uses gaylords around Boston
Seven trades, each on its own road
193
Produce wholesale gaylords in Chelsea and Everett: octabins, full flap bottoms, wet-load limits and how a produce dock should sell or recycle its empties.
9390
Seafood processing gaylords at the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park: why wax and wet decide the box, which outer boxes are reusable and how to ask.
49593
Plastics processors and regrind buyers around Lawrence, Woburn and Lowell: four- and five-wall octabins, full flap bottoms and 48 x 40 footprints.
495128
Life sciences gaylords at Devens, Marlborough and Woburn: clean outer corrugated only, what EHS teams need to clear and how to send a recycle or sell request.
12824495
Warehouses and third-party logistics gaylords at Everett, Canton, Brockton and Taunton: single trip boxes, slip sheets and weekly volumes.
49593
Parts and metal fabrication gaylords around Lawrence, Lowell and Woburn: short boxes, full flap bottoms and one-way automotive packaging explained.
Beverage and Food Distribution
2449593
Beverage and food distribution gaylords at Taunton, Wilmington and Franklin: glass and bakery boxes, damp storage limits and how to sell or recycle empties.
Areas
Counties and cities, by ring road
Harbor
- Chelsea Suffolk County
- South Boston Suffolk County
- Everett Middlesex County
Route 128
I-93 corridor
- Wilmington Middlesex County
I-495 belt
- Lowell Middlesex County
- Lawrence and North Andover Essex County
- Devens Middlesex County
- Marlborough Middlesex County
- Framingham Middlesex County
- Franklin Norfolk County
Route 24 and south
By county: Suffolk County, Middlesex County, Norfolk County, Essex County, Plymouth County, Bristol County.
Questions buyers and sellers ask
Short answers, with the longer ones a click away
Sizes, weight, the ban and grades
- What size is a standard gaylord box?
- The most common is 48 x 40 x 36 inches, about 40 cubic feet, on a standard pallet. See sizes.
- How much weight can a gaylord box hold?
- Commonly cited ranges run from 800 lb for two-wall to 3,000 lb for five-wall, new; a used box holds less. See weight and capacity.
- Can I throw cardboard gaylord boxes in the dumpster in Massachusetts?
- Recyclable cardboard is banned from disposal. See the ban guide.
- Is waxed cardboard covered by the Massachusetts waste ban?
- RecyclingWorks says it is not. We cannot reuse it either. See waxed and wet boxes.
- Who buys used gaylord boxes near me?
- Plastics processors, parts shops, farms and recyclers along Route 128 and I-495. See industries.
- Can I sell gaylord boxes that have printing or old labels on them?
- Yes. Print is cosmetic. See printed and mixed boxes.
The request
Ask for a price
Buy, sell or recycle: choose it as the first answer, then say how many and where.
The reply says what can be done.