Wrapping paper and tissue paper recycleable?

[Janna]

According to our recycling company's website, this is what they take beside plastic and glass "...Cardboard; Newspaper, Magazines; Mixed paper (junkmail) etc."

What do you think? Should I try to recycle the wrapping and tissue paper?

[Doran]

According to our recycling company's website, this is what they take beside plastic and glass "...Cardboard; Newspaper, Magazines; Mixed paper (junkmail) etc."

What do you think? Should I try to recycle the wrapping and tissue paper?

 

 

Apparently, some areas accept wrapping paper, possibly as curbside recycling, or with cardboard products. Check with your local authority.

 

http://www.recyclenow.com/what_can_i_do_today/can_it_be_recycled/paper_products/wrapping_paper.html

 

 

I don't believe they are recyclable.

[Colleen]

In my experience, recycling companies that accept "mixed paper" accept wrapping and tissue paper as such.

[Tap]

Ours takes any paper that doesn't have food debris on it, or foil papers (including foil wrapping paper).

 

Here: Cardboard and any loose paper goes together. Phone books and newspapers are the only exceptions, and go together in a separate bin.

 

 

Depending on how much we have we do one of two things:

 

We put the paper in brown paper bags and label it paper recycling.

 

We put all the recyclables in a cardboard box, and label it.

[Perry]

My city won't take it. From Cedar Rapids recycle website:

 

Accepted

 

 

• Newspaper and paper inserts
  
• Magazines and catalogs
  
• Phone books
  
• Cereal boxes, cracker boxes, Kleenex boxes, toilet paper and gift wrap rolls, etc. Remove plastic liners and flatten to save space.
  
• Junk mail (including glossies)
  
• Mixed paper: white, colored, NCR, laser printer, fax, photocopy, legal pad, note, and computer papers. Also, brown grocery sacks, paperback books (no plastic covers), TV Guides, file folders, post-its, call slips, envelopes (with windows), paper or envelopes with gummed labels, and packing paper.
  

 

 

Preparation Instructions

 

 

• No plastic or metal mixed in. Remove product samples, rubber-bands (reuse), and plastic tape.
  
• Place newspaper, magazines, catalogs, phone books, chipboard, junk mail, and mixed papers in the blue box or CURBY cart.
  

 

 

Not Accepted

 

 

• No STYROFOAM
  
• No waxed paper, paper towels, Kleenex, napkins, paper coffee cups, carbon paper, tissue paper, food and tobacco wrappers
  
• No plastic-coated paper
  
• No gift wrap
  

 

[Colleen]

The reason why some recyclers stipulate "no gift wrap" is because they can't take paper that's not paper, e.g. the shiny/plastic type wrapping papers. If it's just plain ol' decorated paper, it's no different than most magazine and newspaper inserts. (Not that I expect you to go against what your city recycler requests of you; just adding to this discussion for others reading along.:))

[Janna]

Well, I ended up taking it over to the recycling bin. I did not include the tissue paper (because I had read somewhere that it's too thin to recycle properly. Whether that's correct or not, I decided not to chance it) and I did not include the foil wrapping paper (which fortunately there wasn't a lot of). So we'll see. There's nothing I can do about it now as I have already taken it to the mass drop area. I don't want people to have to work extra sorting and throwing stuff that shouldn't have been there though. I was taking the chance that "mixed paper" covered what I gave.