Really dumb recycling question

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

I'm shredding years worth of old financial docs for recycling but discover that I don't have any paper bags to put the shreds in. I read on the S'ville recycling site a few weeks ago that plastic bags *aren't* supposed to go in recycling. Or at least I thought I read that.

Have I completely got it wrong? Can I put my paper shreds in a plastic trash bag and dump that in my Big Blue Bin?


(see - told you it was a dumb question... )

Comments

[ron_newman]

Somerville official trash procedures say:

Shredded Paper - can be placed with recycling if it stored in a clear see-through plastic bag

That would not be an ordinary plastic trash bag. If you don't have this special kind of bag, my suggestion is to go to a supermarket and grab a few paper bags for this purpose.

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

Ah. See through. Missed that. Thanks.

[avjudge]

Oops, ever since we got the big bins I've been dumping my shredder contents straight in there!

[ron_newman]

I've been interpreting it to mean, if you must use a plastic bag, use this kind only.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Don't the shreddings fly all over the neighborhood when the truck dumps the recycle bin? And get stuck to the inside of the bin?

[avjudge]

I don't see them around the neighborhood, so they seem to dump just fine. A few may stick due to static, but since the inside of my bin should be dry (I wash or at least rinse & dry my recyclables before dumping) and there's usually already stuff in there when I dump the shredder so it's only the barest few that cling to the sides or filter to the bottom.

[phpanda.livejournal.com]

I believe you can put in clear bag or white (that you can see through) and put in recycling bin.

Shredded Paper - can be placed with recycling if it stored in a clear see-through plastic bag.
http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/dpw/trash-procedures

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Stop & Shop has clear kitchen trash bags... Or maybe it was Shaw's. I don't remember where I bought my box.
In a pinch, I have used a clear dry cleaning bag- tie the end with the hanger slit, then tie the top when the bag is filled.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

trader joes cambridgeport has a recycling area where it is readily easy to scoop up used paper bags

[real-green-tea.livejournal.com]

Shredding documents can be necessary -- but shredded paper isn't that great for the recycling stream. Not that you have a choice with bank statements or private documents. But.

Minimizing the amount of shredding you do can be helpful, as it minimizes recycling getting dumped in a landfill. It's not as bad as putting some other items in the stream (plastic bags, cellophane, flimsy plastic, all of which cause jams and actually more waste, since then a bunch of stuff has to be taken out of the stream and dumped in a landfill to prevent recycling mishaps) -- but minimizing shredding is always a good idea.

Putting shredded paper in large clear plastic bags sounds like a good idea as it denotes that these items must be separated from the normal recycling stream and shreds can be seen clearly and easily.

Making paper is a lot of work! It is easier to make paper from paper than from strips. Just some general info in case anyone didn't know this already...

[ron_newman]

I didn't realize this! I thought all the paper got reduced to pulp before turning back into new paper.

[real-green-tea.livejournal.com]

It degrades the fibers. cf http://earth911.com/news/2011/04/19/is-shredded-paper-recyclable/ (http://earth911.com/news/2011/04/19/is-shredded-paper-recyclable/) and other resources for more info.

Somerville is pretty special in that it does accept shreds, with the special rule about clear plastic bags (noted by another commenter above).

There are actually a number of other items Somerville accepts in regular recycling that I found surprising, including small household batteries! I had no idea until I checked out http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/dpw/trash-procedures (http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/dpw/trash-procedures) just now, myself... not all the info is included on the yearly 311 leaflets, that page is really worth a look.

[ron_newman]

That page says that ordinary non-rechargeable batteries should go out with trash, not with recycling. Rechargeables have to be disposed of as hazardous waste, not in normal recycling bins.

MIT has a battery recycling bin in the Stata Center lobby, so I sometimes save my batteries up to bring there.

[real-green-tea.livejournal.com]

Oh... right. I totally misquoted info from that page. (Sorry if I confused anyone!)

A bunch of people told me I have to bring household batteries to MIT if I want them recycled. Thank you for letting me know that I can do this at the Stata Center. (The MIT campus is big, and I was just going to bring a handful of leaky batteries down there and wander around till I found a recycling box. Or you know. Ask at the student center or a library. Both of which are kinda far from the Stata Center.)

[ron_newman]

I'm sure MIT has other battery-recycling bins; that's just the one I know about and use. This page says there's another one in the Student Center first floor.

(Whether they want the leaking batteries, I don't know.)