Recycling Paper

[FrugalNYC]

How Do You Recycle Paper?
I tend to save used single side paper for draft printing, note taking, paper crafts such as origami. Do you reuse single side printed paper? How? What methods do you have for recycling other paper products?

[click4credit]

Paper that cannot be re-used anymore (both sides have been written on) can be recycled. What you can do is shred it to very small pieces, add 3 cups of water and then use a blender to mash them together. Once everythingis all mashed up, lay it ou on a table and press out water. Once this dries out, this makes for a good ornamental paper.

[lucille]

Any one sided paper that doesn't have secure type information on it gets relegated to the kids for coloring. Otherwise we shred and recycle. Were lucky enough to have an expanded recycling program that takes office paper.

[FrugalNYC]

@click4credit, that's a great tip. I did that in elementary school, but never thought about using it as ornamental paper. Thanks!

@lucille, we use the paper for kids scribbles and drawing as well. Glad to hear from fellow environmentally aware bloggers

[purplefdu]

Our goes in the paper bin for recycling if we don't crumple it and give it to the dogs to munch on til its soggy. For some reason crumpled paper is almost as much fun as empty cereal boxes.

[mandarin.mint]

I have this humongous box of paper that my colleagues waste at work (that I've collected myself. . .watching them trash 20 pages a time makes my stomach turn). I've called a few recycling plants around my area hoping that they would take in my box of paper, but all of them turned me away because they only take industrial sized waste-recycling or I have to have a contract with them as a company or they don't take paper waste (only plastic or aluminum). . .

The box is by now overflowing and I have no clue what to do with it, but I can't bear to throw it away, so so far, it's just been sitting there :[ I hope I find somewhere to take it to soon!

[FrugalNYC]

@mandarin.mint, very nice site you have there. Are you the owner or contributor?
As for the paper, I agree, I can't bare to see so much wasted paper at work. I try to reuse as much as possible. I can't believe there is no way to get paper recycling in CA. Are you in a rural area?

[mandarin.mint]

Thanks FrugalNYC! I am actually a Community Manager at Factoidz =) The site is still in its nascent stage but the creator and I have big hopes for it!

I also try to reuse as much as I can, but I can only reuse so much. . .for every 1 page I salvage, there's another 15 that is dumped in the trash :[

The funny thing is I don't live in a rural community at all. . .I live and work in a suburban area (Pasadena in fact, where the Rose Parade/Rose Bowl is situated). The only place I've looked is online. . .and a lot of the numbers are either disconnected, or they're now numbers to another company, or they don't take paper from outside resources, especially in such a "small" amount.

I haven't given up yet! I'm still keeping my box of paper for that one day, when I finally find a recycling plant for it!

[amyschiff]

paper printed on 1 side only usually gets torn into quarters for note paper.

when I lived on campus at Michigan State, I took all the office paper I no longer needed and deposited in one of the recycling boxes there. I don't get as much paper now that i'm not in school, but stuff that has my name/address on it I try to shred it up (by hand lol)

[mcnerd]

My paper is shredded and fed to my compost or mixed in with the dirt around plants. The worms love it and it decomposes nicely. Just stay away from the heavily colored ones like from the Sunday paper. Gives them indigestion.