All you have to do is put the paper shreds into a compost bin along with other food waste so they can break down. Try to maintain a balance of 25 parts paper to one part vegetable and food waste so that the compost has a high carbon to nitrogen ratio.
The majority of recycling centres don't accept small strips or bits of paper. The large-scale recycling facilities use large screens to dry pulp paper on, where small paper pieces fall through the screens. If you put paper shreds in an office or home recycling bin, they will most likely end up in landfill.
Staple or tape it shut and recycle it in your curbside recycling bin. Putting the shredded paper in a paper bag or box makes it more likely that it will be recycled.
Do not put shredded paper in your recycling wheeled bin as the small pieces often fall through the machinery used to sort recyclables. Shredded paper can be added to your home compost bin and is suitable as a bedding material for some animals. Otherwise it should be placed in your waste wheeled bin.
Most shredded paper is of a high grade and could be recycled but the paper strips are too small and light to be separated during sorting at our material recovery facility – the large plant where recyclables are sorted and sent for re-processing.
In most cities, shredded paper is recyclable as long as it's contained. How you do that depends entirely on where you live. Some cities want shredded paper in clear plastic bags. Others want it in paper bags or cardboard boxes.
The moisture from the food is a good addition to the greenwaste to promote high quality land application material. It also helps to promote less frequent rubbish can bag changing since there is no rotten food creating moisture and smell. You can also add most types of shredded paper (no glossy) to your compost pile.
Shredded paper, sticky notes and other small pieces of paper can go in your green bin. Paper provides a great source of carbon, which is an important component of good compost. It also has the added bonus of absorbing the moisture and reducing smells in your green bin.
Acceptable Recycling Items
Paper, cardboard, newspapers, magazines, telephone books, cereal boxes, envelopes, junk mail, pizza boxes (food removed), shredded paper (please note: shredded paper cannot be placed into the recycling bin loose. It must be wrapped in newspaper or placed inside a brown paper bag).
Can shredded paper be recycled through regular recycling? It sure can! The simplest and easiest way to dispose of shredded paper is through the standard council recycling bin regime.
Even if they're old bank statements, they should be shredded. Your name, address, phone number and bank account information are in those statements, along with your habits, purchases and banking history. Even if the account is closed, shred it anyway.
The longer and stronger a paper product's fibers are, the more times it can be recycled. Shredding paper cuts its fibers and reduces its recyclability. For instance, a new sheet of office paper can generally be recycled 5-7 times.
Receipts. Shred all receipts you don't save. Those from credit card purchases reveal the last digits of your card number and possibly your signature. Crooks can also use receipts for fraudulent returns and benefit from your store credit if you don't shred documents.
To be effective, papers must soak in a plastic trash can with a water and bleach solution for a few days, then mixed together to break the documents into a pulp. Once the documents have fully disintegrated, the water will need to be pressed from the pulp before it can be disposed of.
Syringes, glass, cans, cardboard tubes, ink cartridges and toners, hanging folders, nuts and bolts, office supplies like hole punchers and staple removers, and even food can all be harmful or damaging when thrown in a Shred-it container carelessly.
Pack Into a Paper Bag
Loose shredded paper can slip through the paper separator when recycled, so pack it into a paper bag and staple shut.
Types of paper that are not recyclable are coated and treated paper, paper with food waste, juice and cereal boxes, paper cups, paper towels, and paper or magazine laminated with plastic.
Your paper and card is taken to a paper sorting facility. Here it is sorted and graded. It is then bailed and transported to a number of reprocessors for recycling back into new products. However, we are struggling to recycle paper and card because people are putting the wrong things in the recycling bin.
Glossy paper is accepted in all local recycling programs, provided the paper does not have a plastic coating. If the glossy paper is easy to tear, it should be ok.
Shredding paper reduces the volume of paper waste. Shredded paper tends to take up less volume in your paper recycle container than un-shredded documents. Shredded paper can also be recycled as mulch, compost or packing material, reducing waste.