Choosing the correct trailer to carry cardboard at 44 tonnes on UK roads is a volume game. Loose cardboard is one of the lightest loads on the road, and even baled card rarely gets a trailer to its legal weight. What matters is cubic capacity, fast loading - often by forklift from the side - and keeping the card dry, because wet cardboard loses value fast.
Short answer: the best trailer for cardboard in the UK is a curtainsider for baled card, or a Knapen recycling, side door or ultralight moving floor for loose and baled card in bulk. Newton Trailers of Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, sells, hires and services these trailers across the UK. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for cardboard in the UK.
Newton Trailers' current first choice trailer for the transport of Cardboard is:
Recommended First Choice Trailer: Curtainsider (baled card)
Recommended Second Choice Trailers: Knapen Recycling Moving Floor; Knapen Moving Floor with Side Doors; Knapen Ultralight Moving Floor
Recommended Sales Options: Side Doors; Watertight Automatic Roll Over Sheet System; Ultralight Body; Load Restraint
Seasonal Hire: Partly - retail and online shopping peaks before Christmas bring a cardboard surge in January.
TASCC Product: No - cardboard is not a permissible load for TASCC-registered trailers, so keep it to non-TASCC trailers.
Product Density: 55 - 260 kgs/m3
Trailer Volume: Maximum cube - 140 cuyd floors
Region: Nationwide - supermarkets, retailers, distribution centres and MRFs to paper mills and export ports
The UK generated around 5.4 million tonnes of paper and card packaging in 2023 and recycled 3.9 million tonnes - about 73%.
At 55 - 260 kg/m3 cardboard is the classic volume load: even a 100 m3 trailer carries well under 29 tonnes. Every extra cubic metre and every kilo saved on tare earns money.
Cardboard is the UK's biggest recycled packaging material. In 2023 around 5.4 million tonnes of paper and card packaging was generated and 3.9 million tonnes recycled - about 73%. Much of it is OCC (old corrugated cases) baled at supermarkets and distribution centres, then sent to UK paper mills or exported.
Exports are a big part of the flow: the UK exported 3.4 million tonnes of recovered paper in 2023, with India taking 1.1 million tonnes. That means steady trailer runs to ports as well as to mills.
For baled cardboard from retailers, the curtainsider remains the simplest answer: quick to load from the side by forklift and ideal for back-hauls. For loose card and mixed bales from MRFs and transfer stations, a Knapen moving floor carries the volume and unloads in minutes. Side doors combine both: side loading of bales, horizontal unloading at the mill. An ultralight floor keeps tare down on this lightest of loads.
Cardboard Trailer Option: Side doors. Forklift loading of bales from the side, with moving floor discharge.
Cardboard Trailer Option: Watertight automatic roll over sheet system. Wet cardboard loses value - keep it dry.
Cardboard Trailer Option: Ultralight body. Every kilo of tare saved is more card per trip.
Cardboard Trailer Option: Load restraint. Keeps bales stable on curtainsiders.
A curtainsider for baled card, or a Knapen recycling, side door or ultralight moving floor for loose and baled card in bulk.
A volume load. At 55 - 260 kg/m3 even a big trailer fills before it reaches legal weight.
Around 3.9 million tonnes of paper and card packaging was recycled in 2023, about 73% of what was generated.
To UK paper mills and for export - the UK exported 3.4 million tonnes of recovered paper in 2023.
Yes. Newton Trailers offers curtainsider hire and moving floor trailer hire, as well as new and used trailers for sale. Call 01525 872466.
A cardboard trailer also carries the other dry recycling loads. See our guides to trailers for RDF and glass.
Confederation of Paper Industries: the UK trade body for the paper-based industries.
Paper and card packaging recycling 2023: Statista, citing Defra. UK recovered paper exports 2023: Pulp & Paper News. Density, payload and trailer recommendations: Newton Trailers.
Page last updated: September 2026. Newton Trailers - the best trailer for cardboard in the UK.
| Best Match | Options | Volume | Payload | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Knapen Side Door Moving Floor | 133 CuYds (101.7m3) | 26800kg | |
| Used | 2020 Kraker Side Door Moving Floor | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 27100kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Side Door Moving Floor | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 27250kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Recycling Moving Floor Trailer | 127 CuYds (97.1m3) | 26550kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Recycling Moving Floor Trailer | 127 CuYds (97.1m3) | 27010kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Recycling Moving Floor Trailer | 127 CuYds (97.1m3) | 27010kg | |
| Also See | New Knapen Ultralight Moving Floor | 122 CuYds (93.3m3) | 28650kg | |
| Also See | 2019 Legras Side Door Moving Floor | 120 CuYds (91.7m3) | 27200kg | |
