Paper is Easy to Recycle
Paper is Easy to Recycle
Feb 10Of all the items that we can recycle, the easiest has to be paper. All types of paper can be recycled and most of us have some that could be collected each day. From newspaper like this issue of Tulsa County News, to the letters and magazines that fill our mailboxes, they all share in common recyclability. If you work in an office, you probably generate about a pound and a half of paper per day on your job. Much of that gets filed in a cabinet or notebook, but eventually will become unneeded to store and could then find its way to the recycling bin.
I have been recycling newspaper for 40 years. Our scout troop used to collect newspaper in a bin behind the church and from nearby neighbors that we took to a place on the east side of downtown. It is hard to make any money on collecting paper in small amounts, but if you can get a ton or more at a time, you can sell it like the M.e.t. does. We made a penny a pound back then, but goods were cheap enough that it was enough to buy frying pans and tents for the troop.
Some people are under the misperception that paper has to be sorted to take out certain items for recycling. It is not true anymore. The inserts in the Sunday paper are just fine, as are the window envelopes and papers stapled together. It is great to have as clean of paper as possible, but don’t stress over a few non-paper items included.
I recycle every piece of paper possible. I include receipts, business cards, and mistakes from the printer. I do try to use the backs of the paper for notes before they hit the recycle bin and have learned to write real small on even the smallest bit of paper. There are some papers in my life that I can’t recycle, like tissues and paper towels.
It just makes sense to collect paper for recycling instead of throwing it away. We use so much (it represents more trash by weight than all the cans and bottles combined). Why would I want to make paper from trees when I can make it from paper? This week, when you have finished reading all the stories in this issue, take the Tulsa County News to a recycle bin near you.
