Home: Posted 2009

Catalogue Recycling

Paper is one of the easiest items to recycle. The word 'paper' actually originates from a word meaning 'pulp'. The first paper was made from a mixture of fibres, which were often used again and again. The process of creating paper from wood was formulated much later. Along with newspapers and magazines catalogues are one of the largest contributors to land fill sites. It's now common practice for most online e-tailers to send unwanted sales leaflets and catalogues monthly.

What can irritate many people is the complete waste of paper this process ensures. Unlike a newspaper or magazine, the catalogue will go straight into the bin with little more than a glance. Of course the best thing would be for companies to stop sending unwanted mail and catalogues not requested through the post. But lets be pragmatic and accept this as wishful thinking. Now it may appear to the ignorant that paper is a biodegradable material.

So why does it matter if I chuck it in the bin and let it rot in a land fill site? Well paper will rot, but while it rots it creates methane, which is a gas which is twenty times as powerful as carbon dioxide. Paper is also a third of all UK household waste collected for recycling. This also indicates there must be a considerable amount of paper which isn't recycled. Many scientists believe this is a serious hazard contributing to global warming.

So the next question is how best to dispose of all this unwanted junk mail and catalogues? Don't worry it's not too difficult. All you need to do is collect and store all your newspapers, catalogues, magazines and junk mail. You can then simply leave them at national paper collection spots. Most towns will feature a car park, or supermarket car park with recycling banks. To search for your local bank then you can search here,

http://www.recyclenow.com/where_to_recycle/index.html.

Most councils also have a recycling collection service. To read up about all the various grades and specification for paper collection visit here,

http://www.letsrecycle.com/materials/paper/specifications.jsp.

Labels

Mobius Loop - international symbol for recycling

RecycleNow - for recycle friendly products in UK

Energy Efficiency

Glass

Plastics

Polyethylene Terepthalate

High Density Polyethylene

PVC

Low Density Polyethylene

Polypropylene

Polystyrene

All other resins and multi-materials

Recyclable aluminium

Recyclable steel

Green Dot logo - for manufacturers who are authorised members of the recycle scheme in the EU

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