Paper plain and simple – put it in the recycling bin

Paper is one of the easiest items to recycle. In terms of recycling in the home, it is hard to go wrong.

Ipswich City Council recently announced its simple Recycle 4 strategy – the definitive list of four categories to put into the yellow lid bin as part of a new recycling campaign aimed at reducing contamination rates.

Paper is top of the list: specifically newspapers, magazines, junk mail and office paper.

Works, Parks and Sport Committee Acting Chairman Councillor David Morrison said there were a few easy explanations as to what could be recycled under the paper category. Items that can be placed in the yellow lid bin are:

• Newspaper (clean)

• Magazines

• Junk mail

• Officer paper (not shredded)

• Wrapping paper (no tape or ribbon)

• Phone books

• Books

• Envelopes (with or without window)

Cr Morrison said staples could be left in paper; plastic wrapping on advertising material must be removed and placed in the general waste bin; and definitely no shredded paper as it gets caught in the recycling sorting machinery.

“There are some paper items that will not be accepted: no shredded paper, no paper towels, no tissues, no small pieces of paper (such as shopping dockets), no confectionery wrappers – and no fast food wrappers as these are nearly always contaminated with food scraps,” he said.

Millions of tonnes of paper are sent to landfill across the nation each year, yet most of it could be recycled.

“More often than not, paper in the home goes straight to the general waste bin. But it should become second nature – follow these few simple steps and think yellow, think recycling,” Cr Morrison said.

Council has just signed a new 12-month recycling contract with Visy Recycling and must get contamination rates down from the current 50 per cent to 15 per cent or lower.

“We all need to work together and putting paper into recycling is one simple way to help,” he said.

In a bid to cut contamination rates by more than half, council has come up with a simple, definitive list of just four categories for the yellow lid bin as part of the fortnightly kerbside collection service. They are:

1. Paper: Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, office paper

2. Plastic: Bottles and containers (milk, soft drink and shampoo bottles; yoghurt and ice-cream tubs)

3. Cardboard: Boxes including clean pizza boxes

4. Cans and tins: Aluminium and steel (drink cans, food tins and aerosol cans)