Practice

How much paper is in a filing cabinet? Volume to weight for your quote

18 May 2026 · 7 min read · DeSnipperaar

Anyone asking for a quote for archive destruction is often met with the question: how many kilos or running metres is it? And then it goes quiet. Nobody counts their archive in kilos. People count in boxes, binders, cabinets or "four cabinets in the back office". This article translates those terms into kilos, so you can request a quote without putting your archive on a scale.

Standard binder: 1.4 to 1.8 kg

A filled A4 binder 8 cm wide holds roughly 600 sheets of paper. With an average A4 paper density of 80 grams per square metre that comes to:

• 600 sheets × 0.06 m² per sheet × 80 g/m² = around 2.9 kg of net paper
• Plus the cardboard/plastic of the binder itself: 0.3-0.5 kg
• Total: 1.4-1.8 kg per binder at an average fill, up to 3.2 kg when packed tight.

Most organisations have binders half to 80% full; for an estimate count 1.5 kg per binder.

Standard filing cabinet: 100 to 150 kg

A 5-shelf filing cabinet (the common Dutch size of 1.80 m tall) holds roughly 18-22 binders of 8 cm width per shelf. A full cabinet:

• 5 shelves × 20 binders = 100 binders
• 100 × 1.5 kg = 150 kg per cabinet

In practice a filled cabinet is rarely 100% packed, so reckon with 100-130 kg for a typical archive, 150 kg for a stuffed cabinet.

Moving box: 15 to 20 kg

A standard moving box (60×40×30 cm) holds 8-10 binders. Full of loose paper (without binders) it reaches 20 kg, with binders 12-15 kg.

Pallet: 400 to 600 kg

A Euro pallet (120×80 cm) stacked with boxes or loose binders up to 1.2 m high typically carries 400-600 kg. Above that it becomes unstable for transport.

Running metre of archive: 25 to 40 kg

Archivists think in running metres: how many metres of paper on a shelf. A well-filled metre (binders 8 cm wide, around 12 binders per metre) gives:

• 12 binders × 1.5 kg = 18 kg of net paper
• Plus boxes or folder fittings: 25-30 kg per running metre at standard density
• Compact high-density storage (50% more dense): 40 kg per running metre

Example scenarios for a quote

Situation	Estimated weight
1 filing cabinet with 80 binders	120 kg
4 filing cabinets in one office	500 kg
10 moving boxes after a clean-up	150-200 kg
Full archive room (30 cabinets)	3,000-4,000 kg
Company archive of 25 staff, 5 years of build-up	500-1,000 kg
Office of 50 staff, annual clean-up	200-400 kg

For most quote requests an estimate to one decimal is enough: roughly 200 kg, roughly 1,000 kg, roughly 5,000 kg. We invoice afterwards on actual weight.

When does it affect the price?

Our pricing structure looks at three variables: travel distance, total volume and special requirements (such as photo documentation or DIN E destruction for hardware). For a fair quote we need roughly two data points:

1. Number of cabinets or boxes (order of magnitude).
2. Presence of anything other than paper (CDs, USB sticks, ring binders with large metal rings, hardware).

If you come close to that, we can give a price range within 24 hours. An exact estimate is not needed because the final invoice is based on actual weight.

What sits outside paper?

Inventory separately:

• Optical discs (CD/DVD/Blu-ray); we destroy them at DIN O level.
• USB sticks, memory cards, external HDDs; read about the separate route for flash media.
• Access badges and plastic cards; separate stream at DIN E level.
• Books, ring binders, clip files; no problem, can mix in the same run.
• Branded clothing or premiums; mention them so we bring the right shredder.

Practical estimation tips

1. Walk through your archive and count cabinets. One full standard office filing cabinet = 120 kg.
2. Ask the archivist for running metres; multiply by 30 kg.
3. Count moving boxes already packed: 15 kg per box.
4. In doubt always estimate higher: we invoice on actual weight anyway.
5. Combine one-off bulk with regular runs: a large clean-up is cheaper per kilo than many small runs.

Why on-site also works for large clean-ups

For clients with more than 1,000 kg to destroy, some wonder whether on-site can keep up. Answer: yes. Our truck processes around 1,500-2,500 kg per hour at DIN P-5. A larger clean-up of 5,000 kg then takes around 2-3 hours on site. Compare that to an off-site run where everything has to be loaded, transported and then processed at the same DIN level. The time advantage of on-site is significant for large clean-ups; see also on-site versus off-site shredding.

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Unsure how to estimate your archive? Email us a photo or description via desnipperaar.nl. We do the maths for you.