Recycling Paper Products

There are many types of cardboard and paper products that not only can be recycled but are being recycled by Americans each year. Specifically, about 65% off all paper products bought are collected, processed, and reused for items that we re-buy and use everyday. 65% equates to roughly 45 tons or 335 lbs for every person in the U.S.

Cardboard is one of the most recycled materials in this group, with corrugated cardboard leading the pack. About 70% of all commercial cardboard boxes are processed and reused again for more shipments. But there are many other types of cardboard that end up in your curbside recycling bin. They include:

Paperboard
Once used mainly for cereal packaging, you can now buy many of your favorite cookies, crackers, pastas and cleaning products in paperboard boxes. Paperboard is pressed thin and typically one side is gray in color.

Paper Cardboard Diary and Juice Cartons
This paperboard has a special plastic coating to keep it from disintegrating when wet. It is lightweight and has a waxy finish.

What makes up a large portion of the paper weight that each of us recycles each year are the newspapers, magazines, office paper and junk mail that we put in the recycling bin. Glossy paper found in magazines undergoes a special process that strips the protective coating from the sheets and then the remaining fibers are processed into items such as paper towels and napkins. Of all the items in this group, junk mail is the least recycled. There must be something therapeutic about dumping those unwanted offers into the trash bin as a sort of “take that!” to the solicitor. Maybe it’s the fear that a credit card offer will get into the wrong hands if we simply tear it up instead of shredding it. It could be as simple as forcing the credit card companies to put “please recycle” on each envelope they send to get us in the swing of recycling this paper product.

It is important to remember that food contaminated items cannot be recycled. You cannot put used napkins, paper plates or plastic utensils that have not been wiped clean in with the rest of your recyclable items. This will contaminate the bunch and most likely the effort you made to recycle will end up at the landfill. Most recycling facilities will not accept pizza boxes with or without pizza grease on the inside. It is just too hard to determine which ones do and which ones don’t when a big load comes in. Lastly, most facilities will tell you to go ahead and put that used wrapping paper in the trash. It has been processed so many times that it is virtually unusable (and as a result biodegradable!) They will however take all the gift bags you have to offer!

While we are getting better at “going green” as a culture, asking for paperless statements and e-receipts, there is still room for improvement when it comes to getting the paper products that do end up in our hands into a recycling bin. Knowing that it can and will be used again and again is guaranteed to help our environment and most importantly our oxygen producing trees that we need to not only survive but thrive for generations to come!