Recycling Paper Products

Paper products make up nearly 40% of the waste stream, but are very easy to recycle.

Preparation

Place paper products loose on the bottom of the recycling bin, or bundle in paper bags. Avoid using string or plastic bags. Remove paper clips and clasps.

What to recycle

Books, copy/computer paper, carbonless/NCR fax paper, envelopes (plastic and hazy glassine windows are okay), colored paper, paper grocery bags, scrap paper, cereal/dry food boxes, toilet paper tubes, paper towel tubes, vellum paper. Staples are okay.

What not to recycle

Egg cartons, frozen food boxes, paper towels, take-out food containers, unwaxed paper cups/plates, wrapping paper.

Fast Facts

• The production of a ton of paper requires 17 trees, 7,000 gallons of water and more energy per ton than glass or steel.
• High-grade printing, copying and writing paper is the largest single component in a landfill.
• Every year Americans use more than 67 million tons of paper or 580 pounds per person.
• Americans throw away enough office and writing paper annually to build a wall 12 feet high stretching from Los Angeles to New York.
• American businesses generate enough paper each day to circle the Earth 20 times.
• Each year, American household receives an average of 1.5 tree's growth of bulk mail advertising. It's estimated that over 10 billion pieces of third-class mail were discarded without being opened.
  
• The average baby will use about 10,000 diapers before toilet training. An estimated one billion trees a year are required to produce disposable diapers.
• In 2005 51.5 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling. The U.S. paper industry has set a goal to recover 55 percent of all the paper consumed in the U.S. by 2012.

Recycling Paper Boards

This category includes paperboard products such as brown corrugated cardboard, cereal boxboard, shoe boxes and similar material.

Corrugated boxes, also called old corrugated containers (OCC), are used to store, ship, protect and identify goods. A corrugated box has flat, outer sheets of dense fiber which sandwich an inner ruffled or "corrugated" layer.

Because of its durabiity, low reprocessing cost and high value, corrugated recycling has been practiced since the 1880s.

Preparation

Breakdown and flatten all cardboard boxes. Remove tape, staples and strapping wherever possible. Try to breakdown into 3' x 3' sections.

What to recycle

Brown corrugated cardboard, brown paper bages, boxboard such as cereal boxes, shoe boxes and gift boxes.

What not to recycle

Pizza boxes, refrigerator and freezer boxes, pop and beer boxboard, waxed corrugated cardboard.

Fast Facts

A few facts about corrugated cardboard recycling:

• Over 90% of all products in the U.S. are shipped in corrugated cardboard boxes.
• 70% of all corrugated cardboard is recovered for recycling—the largest source of waste paper collected for recycling.
• Corrugated cardboard is often made of recycled content and almost always made of post-consumer material.
• Corrugated cardboard is environmentally friendly, able to accept non-toxic water-based inks and also to be processed without bleaching.
• After it’s recycled, paper (including OCC) is used to make chipboard, paperboard (i.e., cereal boxes), paper towels, tissues, and printing and writing paper.
• Ozone-depleting chemicals have been virtually eliminated from the manufacture of OCC; the use of heavy metals has been dramatically reduced; over 97% of inks on boxes are now water-based and non-toxic; and virtually all box plant trimmings (waste from manufacturing) are recycled.
• Even raw materials used to make OCC—lumber industry byproducts such as sawdust and wood chips—are renewable resources.
• Making the pulp from trees for use in corrugated cardboard creates sulfur dioxide pollution. Recycling corrugated cardboard into new products cuts the pollution generated by half.
• Corrugated cardboard manufactured from recycled pulp uses about 75% of the energy used in the manufacture of corrugated cardboard made from virgin pulp.

Recycling Glass Bottles and Jars

Follow these guidelines for determining what to recycle and what to put in your regular trash.

Preparation

Rinse jars and bottles. Paper labels are okay. Remove lids and caps and recycle with other materials. Place glass bottles and jars loose in recycling bin.

What to recycle

Recycle glass bottles, glass jars, wine bottles, all colors are okay to include in your recycling.

What not to recycle

Auto glass, ceramic, fluorescent lights or light bulbs, mirrors, window glass, pyrex dishes or porcelain.

Fast Facts

• Glass containers are an environmentally superior packaging—nontoxic, high value, and completely recyclable.
  Glass can be recycled again and again with no loss in quality or purity. Glass containers go from recycling bin to store shelf in as little as 30 days—again and again.
• In 2005, glass made up nearly six percent of the municipal solid waste stream by weight.
• 61% of U.S. produced glass containers is clear, 31% is amber, 7% is green, and 1% is blue.
• The U.S. annually produces about 12.5 million tons of glass of which 3.7 million tons is recycled.
• Americans annually dispose of over 28 million glass bottles and jars.
• Most bottles and jars contain about 30% recycled glass.
• About 37% of all glass bottles and jars are now recycled.
• Glass recycling employs over 30,000 workers in 76 plants in 25 states.
• Every ton of glass produced from virgin materials produces 27.8 lbs. of air pollution; recycling cuts that amount by over 5 lbs.
• Glass recycling saves over 25% of the energy necessary to make glass with virgin materials.

Recycling Metal Cans

Follow these guidelines for determining what to recycle and what to put in your regular trash.

Preparation

Cans must be empty. Rinse cans and lids, paper labels are okay to leave on. Put lids in bottom of can and crush if possible.

What to recycle

Recycle aluminum cans, tin/steel cans, aerosol cans, empty paint cans, pie plates, cake pans, metal lids.

What not to recycle

Clothing hangers, propane and compressed gas cylinders/tanks, plumbing parts, engine parts, door knobs and hinges, scrap metals, metal bottle caps.

Fast Facts

• We send 800,000 tons of aluminum beverage cans to the trash each year, the equivalent to the annual output of three to four major primary aluminum smelters.
• Each ton of aluminum cans requires five tons of bauxite ore to be strip-mined, crushed, washed, and refined into alumina before it is smelted. The process creates about five tons of caustic red mud residue that can seep into surface and groundwater. People and animals have suffered from the effects of bauxite mining in Jamaica, Brazil, Australia and other tropical areas.
• Three percent of the electricity generated worldwide goes toward the production of aluminum.
• At current wasting levels, about 23 billion kilowatt-hours are squandered globally each year through replacement production. Had the billions of cans trashed been recycled, the electricity saved could have powered 1.3 million American homes.
• About 95 million tons of greenhouse gases were produced by the global aluminum industry in 2005.
• The average American uses 142 steel cans annually.
• The steel packaging recycled in 2000 would yield enough steel to build 185,000 steel framed homes.
• Through recycling each year, the steel industry saves enough energy to power 18 million homes - one-fifth of the households in the US.

Recycling Plastic Bottles and Jugs

Although many plastic beverage bottles can be returned for deposits, recycling plastic through the curbside collection program is one of the most important things we can do. Follow these guidelines for determining what to recycle, how to prepare it, and what to put in your regular trash.

Preparation

Rinse containers, remove and discard tops, and place loose in the blue recycling bins. Labels do not need to be removed.

What to recycle

Most plastic materials are labeled with a symbol that identifies its type. Buffalo's curbside recycling program currently accepts Type 1 PETE and Type 2 HDPE plastics. Use the table below to determine whether or not to include an item in` your curbside recycling.

Note: In general, wide-mouth containers are not recyclable at present.

Symbol	Description
	RECYCLE - Soft drink bottles, water bottles, beer bottles, mouthwash bottles, peanut butter containers, salad dressing containers, juice bottles, vegetable oil bottles. NOTE: Some articles that are noted as type 1 are not recyclable. A common example is the plastic "clamshell" commonly used to package some fruits and vegetables. These should be kept out of your normal recycling.
	RECYCLE - Milk containers, juice bottles, water bottles, bleach, detergent, and shampoo bottles, trash bags, grocery and retail carrying bags, motor oil bottles, butter and margarine tubs, household cleaner bottles, and cereal box liners. Exceptions - Plastic grocery bags, motor oil bottles. Plastic bags can be recycled at many supermarkets.
	DON'T RECYCLE - Vinyl used in some cleaning products, food containers and proudct packaging. Also wire and cable jacketing, medical tubing, and some building materials, particularly siding, piping, and windows.
	DON'T RECYCLE - Squeezable bottles, breadbags, frozen food bags, tote bags, clothing, furniture, dry cleaning bags, and carpet.
	DON'T RECYCLE - Yogurt containers, syrup bottles, ketchup bottles, caps, straws, medicine bottles.
	DON'T RECYCLE - Plates, cups, cutlery, meat trays, egg cartons, carry-out containers, aspirin bottles, compact disc jackets.
	DON'T RECYCLE - Three and five gallon water bottles, certain food product bottles.

Fast Facts

Some interesting tidbits about plastic recycling courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency:

• We use about 32 billion pounds of plastic a year, but recycle only about 2% of it!
• Americans go through 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.
• Recycled plastic can be made into many new products from detergent containers to park benches.
• Because much plastic is made from petroleum, recycling saves money and conserves a valuable resource.
• 56% of recycled PET finds a market in the manufacture of fiber (carpet and clothing). Half of all polyester carpet manufactured in the US is made from recycled soda bottles.
• Other large markets for recycled PET are for strapping (13%) and new containers (14% -food and non-food).
• 29% of recycled HDPE bottles go into making new bottles.
• The plastic pipe industry consumes 18% of the recycled HDPE.
• Other strong markets for HDPE are for lawn and garden products (such as edging), plastic lumber (decks, benches, picnic tables), film and sheet, and a variety of injection molding products (buckets, crates and automobile parts).
• Most of the PET soda bottles recycled in the U.S. are recovered through container deposit systems or bottle bills in ten states (CA, CT, IA, OR, ME, MA, MI, NY, VT and DE).

Waxed Cartons

Follow these guidelines for determining what to recycle and what to put in your regular trash.

Preparation

Empty and rinse containers and remove lids. Place loose in the recycling bin and do not mix with paper and cardboard.

What to recycle

Gable Top Cartons - These cartons are made from a layer of cardboard (called paperboard) sandwiched between two layers of very thin plastic. Although the contents of these cartons are pasteurised before packaging, the cartons still need to be refrigerated.

Aseptic Bricks (UHT) - a newer type of carton made from five layers: three of plastic, one of foil and one of cardboard. The products in the cartons are sterilised before being packaged and, because the cartons fully seal the contents, they do not need to be refrigerated before opening.

What not to recycle

Straws, waxed paper, drink pouches, take-home food containers.

Fast Facts

• Many people think you can't recycle milk cartons because of their thin plastic lining, but this is easily removed during the recycling process.
• A single one-quart milk carton can be turned into five sheets of high quality office paper. This makes cartons a valuable recycling commodity.