Is "The Age of Amazon Prime" increasing the amount of cardboard boxes in this area? It doesn't appear so

Winneshiek County Recycling Center

A recent article by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says an increase in on-line shopping has led to an increase in the number of cardboard boxes taken to recycling centers.  The article says the amount of cardboard recycled across the Twin Cities metropolitan area has jumped nearly 40 percent in 10 years.

But Winneshiek County Recycling Coordinator Terry Buenzow says that's not the situation in rural Northeast Iowa. "We don't see any evidence of an increase at our facility - absolutely none," says Buenzow.

A quick glance at the pile of recently collected cardboard at the Winneshiek County Recycling Center gave Buenzow's observations merit. The vast majority of the cardboard in the pile consisted of individual food packaging boxes (cereal boxes, pizza delivery boxes, beer cartons), bulk food boxes, and a few moving boxes. Only a minimal amount of cardboard bore the evidence of someone's online shopping binge. 

Winneshiek County Recycling Center

Winneshiek County Recycling Center