Paper recycling simplified; put it all in one bin

by Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff

ecycling paper on campus is getting easier this fall. Staff and faculty no longer need to decide which paper goes in the blue bins and which in the green. All paper recycled on campus can go in either receptacle, according to John Pepi, solid waste manager in Physical Plant.

     The other change in paper recycling is that envelopes with windows and paperboard/boxboard should no longer be recycled on campus by employees. Paperboard is what cereal boxes and shoe boxes are often made of. Paperboard will continue to berecycled in the housing units.

     Keeping these papers out of the bins creates a higher quality of recyclable "mix" and therefore allows the University to receive a higher price for its recycled paper and cardboard, Pepi said.

     Employees are helping in two ways when they recycle properly, Pepi said. They minimize the University's impact on the environment, and their waste paper becomes a source of income for the campus.

     The campus is currently recycling about 52 percent of its total waste, including food, computers, and other items, as well as paper, and this places it among the top 10 colleges and universities in the country, according to Pepi.

     "We're shooting for 60 percent; that's our goal," Pepi said. "There's definitely room for improvement, so that's why the switch [from sorting the green and blue bins to the new approach]. We're hoping that if we make it easier for people to recycle that they'll do more of it."

     In addition to envelopes with windows and paperboard, paper products that shouldn't be recycled include any food containers, including egg or 6- to 24-pack beverage cartons, paper plates or cups, and pizza boxes; composite postal packaging; Tyvek envelopes and other packaging; waxed cardboard; carbon paper; blueprints; and paper tissue or towels.

     Corrugated boxes, unlaminated cards, Post-It notes, stationery, brown envelopes and paper bags, paperback and telephone books with covers removed, newspapers (including inserts) and catalogs and magazines, as well as general office paper are recyclable, Pepi said.

     Corrugated boxes should be flattened and placed beside a green or blue bin, according to Pepi.

     More information is available online (www.umass.edu/recycle).