How to Recycle Paper
Before throwing away your old paper products, consider how they can be given a new lease on life by recycling them. If you’ve been wanting to get started with recycling paper but haven’t been sure where to start, this comprehensive guide will help you.
How to Recycle at Home
Here are 4 steps to effectively recycle at home.
Step 1: Invest in a few recycling bins
The first step to recycling at home is to invest in a few recycling bins and place them throughout the house, space permitting. Think about places where you use paper and other recyclables: the bathroom (toilet roll cores, toothpaste, cosmetic and medicine boxes), the study or office, and of course the kitchen.
Step 2: Monitor your recycling pile
Once you’ve placed recycling bins around your home, it’s important to monitor them without allowing them to get too full before you drop them off. Make sure paper recycling is not emptied into the rubbish bin, so chat to your house helper and family about what must happen to the recycling.
Step 3: Decide on collection or drop-off
Decide what you will do with your recyclables – have them collected, or drop them off? If you’re dropping off, keep a box/crate in your car so that you can do a weekly drop-off. You can support a school or community organisation and ‘deposit’ your paper in their bank.
If you’re having your recycling collected, find out if there are any local recycling businesses or support the local waste collector.
Step 4: Spread awareness
Make family, friends, and visitors aware that you recycle your paper and encourage them to do the same. You can download some printable posters here.
How to Recycle at the Office
Here are 5 steps to effectively recycle at the office.
Step 1: Nominate a waste warrior or recycling champion
Someone will need to take charge of the office’s recycling programme.
Step 2: Place paper-only bins around the office
Get your office to place paper-only bins or receptacles for easy separation from other recyclables and wet waste, especially in areas where there would be paper disposal – in reception, at desks, meeting rooms, near the printer and in the kitchen.
Step 3: Clearly mark recycling receptacles
Use a colour-coding system to clearly mark your recycling receptacles around the office. And make sure staff know what waste goes where.
Step 4: Support a small recycling business
Procure the services of a small recycling collection business or entrepreneur and discuss the frequency of collection. If you have someone who is willing to drop the recycling off, you can support a community fundraising programme.
Step 5: Make recycling everyone’s business
Make staff and visitors aware of the office recycling programme – it may take regular education and encouragement. You can download some printable posters here.
How to Recycle at School
Here are 5 steps to effectively recycle at school.
Step 1: Nominate a waste warrior or recycling champion
While recycling is a team effort, someone will need to take charge of the office’s recycling programme.
Step 2: Enroll in a programme
The first step to recycling at school is to enroll in a school paper recycling programme which allows your school to receive funding for the paper that your school collects.
Step 3: Place clearly marked bins around the school
Ensure that there are several clearly marked, brightly-coloured bins around the school grounds and in classrooms. Place these bins in key areas: outside classrooms and within administration, near the tuck shops and on the sports ground.
Step 4: Run regular awareness drives
Run regular awareness drives on your recycling. Contact us for a presentation at your school. If you are finding rubbish and recycling in the wrong bins, make staff and learners aware of this and seek ways to correct it. Ensure that ground staff are fully on board with waste separation.
Step 5: Share your recycling journey
Make visitors aware that your school recycles paper and other items. Print out our posters for your classroom and poster boards to aid in the spread of awareness.
Golden Rules For Recycling
Keep recyclable paper clean and dry.
Invest a paper-only bin or box for easy separation from other recyclables and wet waste.
Once you get the hang of it, start separating other recyclables too: plastic, cans/tins and glass as well as organic waste for composting.
Encourage others to recycle!