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When it comes to keeping the environment clean and healthy, recycling rules! But do you know all the recycling rules? Take a look at the items below, then use your knowledge to help improve our environment. Everyone can make a difference by recycling.
Three Simple Steps
1.Check It Out.
While almost all paper can be recycled, most communities recycle only certain paper products. Consider your family’s used paper—newspapers, paper grocery bags, catalogs and magazines, letters, envelopes, and school paper. Then check with your town’s recycling office to see what items you can recycle.
2.Sort It Out.
Some communities require residents to keep glass, cans and bottles separate from each other and other recyclables. They may also require residents to separate different types of paper for recycling. You can help keep your family’s recycling neat and organized by setting up several paper grocery bags in a kitchen closet, pantry or garage. Label each bag so your family will know where to put old paper grocery bags, bottles, newspapers and other recyclables.
3.Quality Counts.
When you recycle your used paper, quality counts. Paper collected for recycling must always be separated from “contaminants,” such as plastic wraps and food waste. Plastics, adhesives (tapes, glues and labels) metal, glass, food and chemicals are all contaminants, and should not be included with your used paper for recycling. Contaminants make it difficult for paper mills to recycle your used paper into new paper. So make sure your used paper is clean and dry, with no food or drink spills.
Recycling Works — At Home and Work
In 2000, more than 12.3 million tons of paper used for printing and writing (stationery, books, copy paper, magazines, envelopes) will be collected for reuse and recycling. That’s nearly twice the amount collected in 1990. Today, Americans recycle more than 40% of all office paper. With more and more office workers taking action to recycle, office paper is a growing source of fiber for recycling. Families also collect office paper at home. If your family uses a desk or a computer, you probably have quite a bit of office paper to recycle. Old magazines and catalogs are also an important source of fiber for recycling.
Bags & Boxes Buddy Up for Recycling
Did you know that bags and boxes are recycling buddies? Well, they are! More than 250 paper mills in more than 30 states recycle bags and boxes together to make new paper products.
Corrugated Recycles!
Corrugated (cardboard) boxes are used to store, ship and protect many of the items we use every day. These boxes are made with several layers of flat paper glued together with a ruffly layer in the middle called fluting. This makes the boxes strong and crush resistant.
Corrugated boxes are the most popular shipping containers in the world. Over 90% of all products in the U.S. are shipped in corrugated boxes. With the increase in Internet shopping, more and more boxes are winding up in homes. Fortunately, corrugated boxes are also one of the most recycled materials in the world. In the U.S., over 70% of corrugated boxes are recycled.
To recycle your family’s used boxes, just flatten and tie.
 Like corrugated boxes, paper grocery bags are made of recycled fiber. They can be recycled, and also used as recycling containers.
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