How Are Cereal Boxes Made?

Cereal boxes are made of chipboard.

Cereal boxes are common in most American households. The production of cereal boxes is performed by machines at a very quick rate to ensure efficiency. The production company ships completed boxes to the grocery stores directly.

Materials

Cereal boxes are made of chipboard, which is also known as paperboard, a different grade of paper than cardboard. You cannot recycle cereal boxes with regular cardboard because of the low quality of this chipboard, but some recycling companies will take the boxes in mixed paper bins.

Printing and Gluing

The cereal box production company digitally prints the company's logo and ingredients onto long, pre-perforated pieces of chipboard. Assembly machines separate the pieces of chipboard into individual, flat boxes and then apply pressure on the folds to make the box shape. A machine applies a strong glue solution to the bottom of the box and to the sides.

Rate of Assembly

After the machines fill the glued box with a bag of cereal, another machine applies a weaker glue to the top flap and closes it. The assembly process can produce 40 complete packages of cereal per minute from the original flat chipboard.

References

• Washington Department of Ecology: Recycling FAQ
• Made How: Cereal