Composition of Phone Books

As with any recyclable, knowing exactly what phone books are of is important. The books’ composition can affect the end user selected, the collection methods, or even whether the books are recycled at all.

Needs of Paper Mills

The components a particular mill can handle will depend on the product into which the old telephone directories (OTD) is being made and upon that mill’s technology for handling inks, glues, etc. A basic understanding of the papermaking process is useful in matching the optimal end user to OTD from a specific community.

Most mills begin the recycling of OTD by shredding, or “hogging,” the books. This may have been done earlier, prior to baling, depending on the mill’s specifications and who processed the OTD for shipment to them. The baling strips are removed and the shredded books are processed with chemicals and water to remove ink, coatings, and glue. De-inking technologies very by mill, and are closely guarded trade secrets.

This cleaned fiber may be mixed with some virgin pulp fiber, depending on the recycled content of the end product. The wet paper mixture is thinned and passed into sheets, dried by hot air...

Computer Printout

Computer printout is the most valuable of the high-grade office paper. It may have colored bars and may be impact or nonimpact (laser) type. Many markets prefer to purchase colored-bar paper. Usually it is a green bar. Many markets prefer impact type or not to mix impact and laser. It is important in planning an office paper recycling program to determine precisely, what the market requires.

Computer printout is generally considered too valuable to mix with other high-grade papers and should be kept separate and free from contamination. Some manifold white ledger paper may appear to be similar to computer printout. Where there is not ablolute certainty, a market expert should be consulted.

White Ledger

White ledger should generally be considered any fine white writing, printing, typing, or copy paper containing no color other than black. The market must always be consulted for precise specifications. Certain qualities of book pages, completely separated from covers and bindings, might be allowed in this grade by certain markets.

Other Office Paper

Colored  ledger should generally be considered any fine...

The following due diligence steps should be performed as a minimum prior to selecting an electronic device recycler:

• Visit the facility where the processing is to be done. Inspect the general housekeeping to ensure that there is an orderly system for processing and accounting for your materials. If you require proprietary information to be removed from your equipment, ensure that this is plainly stated in any contracts you enter into. Confirm with your management information systems person that this will meet your requirements or plan to have this done in-house.
• Obtain a copy of all applicable permits, registrations, and licenses from the recycler. If permits are not required for the recycler’s operation, ensure that you receive documentation from the recycler that states that no permits are required.
•  Ensure that the recycler and its vendors have an environmentally sound method for handling printed circuit boards, CRTs, mercury-containing devices, and ni-cad batteries.
• Ask for a list of all vendors used by the recycler to outlet processed materials; this should include contact numbers and names. Contact these vendors in writing to ensure that they are in compliance with all applicable environmental laws and...

This summer I was assigned to work on a very interesting project. I had to research and come up with the several articles for our Dumpster Rentals Cooperative blog. The subject was ‘The best practices in recycling of waste materials’. I searched the web and found tons of interesting materials on recycling and proper disposal of waste. I continued my research in my great local library in Burnaby, BC and that brought even more useful information. At this point I was skeptical, though, assuming that most of the printed stuff must be outdated and therefore mostly irrelevant.

My skepticism vanished at once as soon as I picked up from the shelf an increasable book ‘365 Ways to Save Earth’ by Anne Jankeliowitch and Ariel Dekovic. The book consisted of 365 Philippe Bourseiller’s spectacular photographs of the natural world paired with simple proposal that presented a bit of advice for ordinary urban and suburban living: dispose of leftover paint properly, check your car’s exhaust, boil only as much water as you need when making tea or coffee, etc. At first, I was amazed by stunning views on the pictures but as I kept reading through I was amazed even more. I just realized how much all of us can do contributing to protection and saving our planet.

Being inspired by...