Shredded Paper

[anotheoldgit]

Why can you not put shredded paper in with other paper for recycling?

[Loosehead]

You can, my council has just issued a guide to what we can put in our "big" bin and shredded paper is allowed.

[Pea Pod]

They maybe think your going to start a fire with your boyhood bombs. I put my shreddings in a seperate bag and put it out with the recycling. Some of it goes for pet bedding so do you mean putting it in the same bag with newspapers.

[anotheoldgit]

I thought the question was clear but obviously it was not, for Loosehead & Pea Pod So let me try again. Why can you not put shredded paper in the same bag that you put say, Newspapers, Envelopes (not brown ones), Sheets of paper, Junk mail etc. Obviously Loosehead you can put it in the "Big Bin" but that only goes to land fill sites hardly recycling. I know all councils do not approach re-cycling in the same way, but my council supply 3 bins, 2 large, (one black the other brown) the other bin is blue and smaller. In the black one goes general rubbish for land fill. the brown one is for garden rubbish (lawn clippings, plants etc.) into this goes the shredded paper. the blue bin is for bottles and cans. We also have a red bag for old clothes. And finally to make it clear to those who do not catch on to the original question first time around. A blue bag for newspapers but no shredded paper, all I am asking is WHY??? no shredded paper. Phew!! I wish I had not bothered.

[Catso]

You can where I live - paper is paper - why do you think it's a problem?

[Pea Pod]

Calm down.My shreddings are going for pet bedding(as above).Your`s are going to help make the compost via the brown bin as seemingly this helps the process.

[Loosehead]

Ok anotheroldgit, you are not normally so terse and indeed I have agreed with you many times so I'm not sure why I deserve this ticking off.

In my area the BIG bin is for recycling stuff, glass, cans paper and plastic all goes in one "Big" bin it is NOT landfill OK?? In the leaflet that goes with the scheme, shreddings are allowed it specifically says so. I can only assume that there is some logistical reason that you particular council does not want them, sorting perhaps. Anyway to answer your original question in most case you CAn put shredded paper in the recycling bin. OK?

[brachiopod]

Shredded paper can increase the proportion of short fibres in the recycled pulp mix. This can weaken the end product (paper or cardboard).

[naz_nomad]

Why can't I put drink cartons in the recycling bag, when they clearly have the recycle logo on them?

[lady_p_gold]

The people who can put shredded paper into their big bin are usually on a 'composting round' which takes garden waste and also vegetable peelings, cardboard and even left over meals. This is not the same as the recycling box which takes paper plastic and sometimes cans. The reason that a lot of Councils do not take shredded paper is because they have had a lot of trouble in the collection and movement of it as it blows around when it is transferred from one place to another and is hard to manage and then complaints are received about it blowing around. The reason you cannot recycle drinks cartons is because they have some metal between the inner and outer section which is not recyclable. Some manufacturers put the recycling logo on things like yoghurt pots and other things because it is technically recyclable and it does also add to their 'street cred' but the problem is that with some of these sort of plastics (as opposed to plastic milk bottles and shampoo bottles and the like) it is very hard to find a market for it, and there is no use in collecting something if you then cannot find anyone to buy it. The reason why Councils are so fussy about what you can and can't put in things is because so many residents just do not read what is correct and then hours and hours are spent taking the incorrect things out and then often whole loads are contaminated and then end up in land fill by people putting all manner of things into their recycling.

[lady_p_gold]

Just to clarify ... the shredded paper that goes into the big bin is then all mixed in with the garden waste and lifted usually by a machine, and does not cause problems in the same way as if it is put with the ordinary recycling paper and plastic which is often collected manually and tipped into a bag and then tipped into the back of a vehicle etc. etc.

[lady_p_gold]

It sounds like you have a wheelie bin Loosehead and so I suppose also with that collection there is not so much of a problem with shredded paper as there is when it is collected in bags or boxes. Will shut up now I am sounding like an anorak.

[Loosehead]

No I live in a block we have a bin for waste and a "BIG" bin for sall the recyclable stuff: Plastic, cardboard, paper, Glass, metal cans. There is a very detail booklet that we have been given saying what we can put in it. It's Bournemouth by the way.

[Mabelcat]

Someone here mentioned envelopes in the paper recycling...every area I've ever lived in has stated NO ENVELOPES as they contain a gum which contaminates the batch. Or is the latest recycling equipment far better at separating items?