How to Recycle Paper Tubing Cores

The tubes inside paper rolls are mixed cardboard.

Consumers can recycle the cardboard tubes inside paper towels, toilet paper and other paper rolls. Some community recycling centers will accept the flattened rolls in the cardboard curbside pickup but not every community accepts them. If your local recycling center does not accept the rolls, there are other techniques you can employ for recycling them.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors

Instructions

1. Contact your local recycling center and ask if it accepts cardboard paper rolls as part of curbside pickup. If not, ask if you can bring them directly to the recycling center.

2. Cut the paper rolls open and lay them flat in the curbside recycling bin, if your recycling center accepts them. Flattening them out will make them easier to process at the plant.

3. Collect the rolls and bring them to a local public elementary school, if the recycling center does not accept them. Elementary schools often use the rolls for crafts or art class.

4. Put the rolls in your compost bin. They are biodegradable and made of natural products. The addition of dry material like cardboard to compost reduces the population of fruit flies and provides bedding for any beneficial worms residing in your compost pile.

5. Put the rolls in the cage of your pet bird or small pet rodents, such as hamsters or mice. The animals will use them as toys or climb into them for shelter.

6. Fill moving boxes with the rolls instead of foam packing peanuts. If you are packing small items, cut the rolls into 1 inch sections so they more closely resemble packing peanuts.

References

• Ecocycle: FAQ
• World Environmental Organization: Toilet Paper Tubes
• The Green Parent: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Tubes