A lot of people clear out old documents after the New Year, but you might want to think twice before shredding them. Paper scraps are too small for some recycling companies to take from residential customers.
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Recycling workers sort out all types and sizes of paper when it arrives at the center. Newspapers go in one pile, envelopes in another. But those scraps of shredded bills?
If you put shredded paper in your home Waste Management recycling bin, you could do more harm to the environment than good. The company's recycling sorters can only separate paper the size of an envelope or larger, meaning tiny, shredded pieces slip through and end up with other recyclable products.
"It actually creates contamination for plastic, aluminum, tin and glass," says Rita Smith, Waste Management community education director. "People who are buying those products don't want shredded paper in them."
She says even if staff can vacuum paper scraps out of other recyclables, the fiber is no longer salvageable. It's mixed with so many other materials that it's considered garbage and heads to the landfill. That means it takes two trips in carbon-spewing trucks to get it to the right place.
"So don't shred unless you really need to for confidential purposes," Smith says.
If residential customers still want to tear up their documents, they can go in with yard waste. Smith says the paper will compost easily as long as it’s layered and not in big clumps.
If you don’t have a yard waste bin, you could try to reuse it as:
- packing material
- animal bedding
- cat litter
- logs to start fires
Have any other ideas? If not, you could take it to work. Waste Management does accept shredded paper from businesses.
Other recycling companies don't have such a problem with shredded paper. CleanScapes, for instance, will accept it as long as it’s stuffed in a clear, plastic bag so workers can easily see it.