How do paper recyclers process things like plastic envelope windows, staples and other items that are not paper?
Things like plastic envelope windows, staples, rubber bands and adhesive labels are now all generally acceptable in office paper recycling streams, explains Daniel Einstein of the UW-Madison Division of Facilities, Planning and Management. He notes that the companies that process paper for recycling have developed technologies and methods for dealing with low levels of these contaminants. Here, in a nutshell, is how the process works: Paper is chopped up and made into a kind of soup. Magnets remove little bits of metal, the remains of staples and paper clips, for example. Small amounts of plastic are skimmed off the paper slurry or screened out. “When it comes to junk mail, what is generally not acceptable,” Einstein explains, “are big chunks of plastic” generated by such things as discarded credit cards and promotional samples like shampoo containers and other products that are sent through the mail. Einstein recommends checking with the municipality or employer that does your recycli
