What Kinds of Paper Are Recyclable?
Going green, or being environmentally friendly, has become more and more accessible over the last 15 years. Grocery stores are now selling eco-friendly light bulbs, cleaning products and even recycled paper towels. Recycling paper is another easy way to help out our environment, with more paper recycled per year than is wasted. Many cities have curbside pick-up or provide recycling drop-off bins.
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Types of Paper That Can be Recycled
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Most types of paper can be recycled. This includes computer paper, higher grade office and construction paper, cardboard boxes, newspapers, catalogs and magazines, and mail and envelopes.
Thanks to improvements in technology, staples and the plastic windows in front of envelopes no longer need to be removed before throwing away in the recycling bin, although paper clips still need to be taken out. Even colored paper like kids construction paper can be recycled.
Types of Paper That Cannot be Recycled
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When throwing away magazines, newspapers and catalogs, it is important to make sure no product samples like perfumes or plastic credit cards remain in the paper, as these cannot be recycled. Any paper containing wax or glue, contaminated with food or human waste, or any cigarette or cigar paper cannot be recycled.
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How Paper is Recycled
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Once paper reaches the recycling plant, it is sorted into the different grades, and any trash collected is removed. The paper is then compacted and shredded. Once the paper is shredded, it is mixed with water to make a pulp substance. This pulp is washed, cleaned and beaten into a slush. From this slush, the paper-making process can begin the same way it would if the slush was from a newly, cut-down tree.
History of Recycling
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Recycling really started in the 1940s during the war, but it wasn't really thought of in the same terms we think of it today. People reused everything because they couldn't afford to waste anything. Scraps of clothes were used to make new clothes; glass was reused instead of thrown out. After the war ended, so did the recycling hot streak. In the early 1970s, Woodbury, New Jersey, mandated recycling. In the early 1980s, recycling drop-off boxes were introduced and later that decade came curbside pickup. 1993 was the first year that recycling passed paper being thrown away. Today there are tens of thousands of recycling facilities throughout the country.
Recycling Facts
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The average American uses 7 trees per year in paper products. One grocery store can use up to 86,000 trees a year on its paper bags. Recycling one full run of the "New York Times" Sunday edition would save 75,000 trees. Recycling can save your business or home money. Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the United States.
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