Shred Calculator Guide

When packing with paper or wool shred, it can be difficult to calculate how much you will need in order to insulate your goods. 

Please read below to find some helpful tips to guide you in calculating approximately how much shred you may need when packing into boxes or hampers. 

Some important things to keep in mind: 

• This guide is an approximation.
• The amount of shred you need to pack a box will depend on what items are being packed inside the box alongside the shred. The weight and quantity of the packed item/s will compress the shred to different degrees. You will need to adjust your quantity of shred according to your items' size and weight.
• Tight crinkle cut, straight cut, wood wool, and cello shred all pack differently. That is, they occupy slightly different volumes and will be compressed to varying degrees when placed under the same weight. We recommend a trial run of a small batch of boxes and shred before using the below guide to make any bulk purchases.

How To Calculate How Much Shred You Need

1. First, calculate the volume of your box with the formula:

Volume = Length x Width x Height

2. To find how much shred you need for your box, divide the Volume of your Box by 40,000*. This will help you to know how many kg of shred you need per box.

3. Multiply this number by the number of boxes you need to pack. This will give you the total quantity of shred you need (in kg). 

Example:
Renaye has a box that she wants to pack with goods and shred.

1. Her box has these dimensions: 18 x 10 x 12 cm.
2. The volume of her box is 18 x 10 x 12 = 2160 cm3.
3. The amount of shred Renaye will need per box is 2160 / 40000 = 0.054 Kg = 54 Grams per box
4. Renaye wants to pack 1000 boxes with shred and goods. 1000 x 0.054 = 54 Kg. Therefore, Renaye needs 54 Kg of shred to pack her 1000 boxes.

For more information please read our Shred & Filler FAQ page and our Koch Blog article, A Guide to Wood Wool & Shred Buying.

*40,000cm3 is roughly the volume occupied by 1kg of shred in half-filled containers. If you need to completely fill your containers, change this 40,000 value to 20,000. 

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