You can recycle paper in your blue kerbside recycling box or in one of the blue paper banks around North Lincolnshire. But what can be accepted?
Yes please
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Junk mail
- Catalogues
- Yellow Pages (please see myths explained below)
- White telephone directories
- All other paper
No thanks
Is there anything we have missed? Email us at wastemanagement@northlincs.gov.uk and let us know.
Yellow Pages: Before 2000, Yellow Pages were printed on paper that was made with fibres that had been dyed yellow. This affected the brightness of the end product and so paper mills were less willing to accept recycled material made from Yellow Pages. Since the 2000/01 edition however the process has changed. Now the fibres used in yellow pages are white and the yellow is simply an ink colourwash. Unlike dyes, inks can be removed from pulp through the cleaning stages and therefore doesn't reduce the quality of the final product. So don't forget to recycle your Yellow Pages when the new editions are released during the summer. Look out for your local school running a Yellow Pages recycling scheme at the same time as the new editions are delivered.
Envelopes: Plastic windows and adhesive strips on envelopes contaminate the recycling process. Residents are advised not to recycle envelopes in the blue box or paper banks. However if you are willing to remove all adhesive sections, including the strip used to seal the envelope and the plastic window, the remainder of the envelope can be recycled.
Shredded paper: Shredded paper can be placed into your blue box for recycling. However, you need to be careful that it does not blow out of the box and cause a littering issue. We would recommend that you wrap your shredded paper in sheets of newspaper to reduce they chance of it blowing out of your box. The same would apply when placing shredded paper into the paper banks as when the banks are emptied loose shredded paper can cause a littering problem when the banks are tipped.
The facts
On average every person in the UK gets through 38kg of newspapers each year. But it's not only newspaper and magazines that can be recycled. Millions of tonnes of paper are produced each year that will biodegrade but that can also be recycled.
- It takes 17 trees to make one tonne of paper.
- Newspapers and magazines can be recycled back into newsprint.
- In the UK we use 12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard each year.
- Paper and cardboard are recycled separately.
- The amount of paper buried in landfill each year would fill over 100,000 double decker buses that would stretch from London to Milan.
Visit our what happens next? page to find out more about recycling paper.
How you can help
- Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, catalogues, yellow pages, white telephone directories and all other paper can be put into your blue kerbside box for recycling. (Please see the blue box page for more information).
- Alternatively, you can deposit your paper material for recycling in your nearest paper recycling bank. To find your nearest paper recycling bank, please use the search function on the following page: Where can I recycle?
Things to avoid
- Cardboard, envelopes and sticky labels.
- Cardboard can be recycled at the eight household recycling centres and should not be included in the blue box or paper recycling banks.
- Reduce pollution and save energy; don't make a special car journey to the paper bank. Combine it with another trip, for example to the supermarket.
Useful web addresses
Every year, the amount of household waste being created is increasing. A solution to this problem will only be achieved with the help and co-operation of you all as resident of North Lincolnshire.
For more information about waste and recycling in North Lincolnshire please contact the customer helpline on 01724 297000. Email wastemanagement@northlincs.gov.uk.