Recycling is the process by which used materials are converted into new products. There are many ways to recycle, from DIY repurposing old objects to sending used materials to facilities. The most common process in the United States is a local recycling program, which follows a five-step process:

1. Donation: Community members gather their recyclable materials, placing them curbside in a special recycling receptacle, similar to a trash bin. (In some areas, donation is instead a drop-off process, in which community members drop off their materials directly at the plant.)

2. Collection: Representatives from the recycling program pick up the recyclable materials and transport them to a recycling facility.

3. Processing: The recycling facility sorts, cleans, and breaks down the objects into materials—for instance, paper is broke down into paper pulp.

4. Manufacturing: The facilities sell these recycled materials to manufacturers who make new goods out of the materials.

5. Resale: The new goods are sold to consumers for reuse as made from recycled materials.

Recycling is a vital process that benefits the environment:

• It conserves resources. Paper, glass, aluminum are materials that you commonly use in your day-to-day life. Recycling allows these materials to be reused; throwing these materials away turns them into single-use objects.
• It lowers our need to collect raw materials. Collecting and manufacturing raw materials like timber and minerals into goods costs money, time, and energy, and pollutes the environment. When you recycle goods, it reduces the need for collecting and manufacturing new raw materials.
• It keeps usable materials out of landfills. Waste sanitation collects and delivers trash to landfills or incinerators, which are often major sources of pollution. By recycling, you give the material a new life and avoid contributing to pollution.

In general, these are the types of paper that you can recycle:

• Printer paper and office paper: Any paper recycling plant can process this type of scrap paper, even if the paper contains print or is crumpled.
• Newsprint and newspaper: Any paper recycling plant can process newspapers. Simply add your newspapers to your recycling bin whenever you’re ready.
• Magazines and glossy flyers: Don’t worry about ink or glossiness; recycling plants can treat the paper to remove the ink. To ensure that glossy paper isn’t coated with non-recyclable polymers, tear the paper—if it rips easily, it’s most likely recyclable.
• Cereal boxes: Paperboard boxes are recyclable. When recycling thin cardboard or paperboard boxes like cereal boxes or pasta boxes, remove the plastic windowpane or liner beforehand.
• Envelopes and junk mail: Recycling plants accept junk mail and envelopes. Add these materials to your recycling bin. If the envelopes have plastic windows, remove them before recycling.
• Cardboard boxes: Recycling plants also accept cardboard boxes. To save space in your recycling container, unfold the cardboard boxes, and lay them flat.
• Books: Bound books, journals, and phone books can all be recycled into new paper products.

These are the types of paper that should be thrown away:

• Tissue paper, paper towels, toilet paper, and napkins: These types of paper products are often soiled with food waste or liquid chemicals, which plants cannot adequately clean for reuse. While these products are non-recyclable, you can recycle paper towel cores and tissue boxes.
• Coated or treated paper: Certain types of paper have been coated with polymers to make them more durable. To determine if a piece of paper is coated, try tearing it—if it tears easily, it’s most likely recyclable; if it doesn’t tear, it’s most likely coated and should be thrown in the trash bin.
• Wax paper, foiled paper, or laminated paper: You should throw away any paper coated with wax or lined with metal foil or plastic—recycling centers cannot easily separate the paper from the additional materials in the recycling process.
• Paper soiled with food waste or grease: Food waste and grease can contaminate paper products, making them unable to be reused in papermaking. You should throw paper products like pizza boxes and soiled food bags in the trash can.

If you want to recycle paper products, check out the following tips to get you started:

1. Verify the type of paper your recycling center accepts. Even though most places in the United States have similar rules for recycling, you should check with your local plant to confirm which paper products they accept. Some recycling centers are “single-stream,” meaning you can pile all of your recycling into one bin and the plant will sort it later; other centers are “sorted-stream,” and require you to separate your paper out from your glass and other recycling, or even sort paper by its type (e.g., old newspapers, mixed paper, office paper, etc.). In addition, some recycling centers don’t have the resources to recycle shredded paper and may require you to bag it separately or deliver it to a separate plant yourself.

2. Keep it unshrouded, where possible. Many people shred papers that have identifying or confidential information to prevent that information from being shared. However, shredding paper reduces the length of its fibers, thereby reducing its recyclability. In addition, some recycling centers can’t process shredded paper and instead request that you deliver it to a separate plant. Where possible, try to avoid shredding paper, instead black-out sensitive information using an ink marker. If you shred your important papers and your recycling center can’t process them, consider using your paper shredding around the house—for instance, in composting, vermiculture, or as an absorbent bed for small-animal litter.

3. Avoid wetting the paper. Once paper becomes wet, it’s much harder to recycle and often has to be thrown away. Keep your paper separate from other recyclable materials that may dampen the paper (such as rinsed plastic containers or used aluminum cans). Avoid getting grease on paper bags used to hold food. Additionally, try not to put your recycling bin out too early on rainy days.

4. Don’t worry about staples. If some of your printed materials contain staples, you may wonder if you need to pry them out before tossing the stack in the recycling. In fact, most paper recycling plants have machines that can remove staples from the paper stream, so you don’t have to remove them beforehand. However, check with your local recycling center to verify whether they remove staples.

5. Go paperless. While paper is an ideal candidate for recycling, most paper fibers can only be recycled up to seven times before the fibers become too weak for recirculation. That’s why the best way to conserve paper is to go paperless wherever possible. Try storing digital versions of files rather than printing out documents, from boarding passes to event tickets.