In an attempt to reduce the overload of paper in landfills there has been a huge push to educate people on how to recycle paper. According to the trash removal giant Waste Management's website, paper products make up over 40% of the composition of landfills. The average office worker creates an average of a pound and a half of paper waste each day; most of it can be recycled. Luckily, Americans seem to be hearing the message. 56% of the paper Americans used was recovered for recycling in 2007.
The first step in recycling paper is to stop throwing away waste paper. Junk mail, newspapers, paper bags, magazines, copy paper, and cardboard are just a few of the paper products that can be recycled. Not all paper products can be recycled in every community, however. Some communities do not recycle phone books, cardboard and waxed cartons (like those used for milk and juice). If your town doesn't recycle cardboard, many supermarkets will allow you to throw your old cardboard into their large recycling dumpsters. Greasy pizza boxes, juice boxes, stickers, fast food wrappers, waxed paper and food-contaminated paper are rarely accepted at any recycling centers. Just throw them away (although you can try to salvage parts untouched by the grease). Contact your town or waste removal company to find out whether paper is recycled and what kinds are accepted.
Many communities now require residents to recycle paper and other products. Some have curbside pick up bins residents can keep in their homes and fill up through the week. Other towns and cities have drop off centers where residents can deposit their used or unwanted paper.
To make it easier for trash collectors and the people who run the recycling drop off centers, it is a good idea to bundle common paper together. For example, bundle all your newspapers together or put them all in a paper bag.
Recycling paper doesn't just save space in landfills, it saves trees as well. More and more paper products are being made from recovered paper. Making new goods out of recovered paper means fewer trees need to be cut down to supply the wood necessary to create that paper.
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