How to Reduce the Use of Paper

•   Call 1-888-5 OPT OUT to stop junk mail. (What could be better than no more junk mail!)
•   Go paperless with your credit card/bank statements. You can now download PDF's of your statements onto your computer from almost all financial institutions. 

•   Stop paper bills and pay bills online.
•  Communicate electronically rather than with paper.
•   Make double-sided copies to reduce paper waste. Also when printing documents try to set the printing layout to fit two pages per sheet.
•  Avoid excess printing.
•  Read newspapers online.
•   Proofread documents on the screen before printing.
•   Reuse large envelopes, file folders, and boxes instead of purchasing new ones.
•  Reuse the backside of single-sided documents.
•  Buy paper products with recycled content -- especially post-consumer fiber. Look for products that have a high-recycled content, including high post-consumer content. This can include paper towels and toilet paper that are now available with 100% previously recycled content.
• If options are present, buy food products that have less packaging material. Stop and Shop has now added as part of their store brand, smaller packaging.

How to Recycle in NYC - Things you may not know

Recycling isn’t easy. It takes time from our daily life. But once we educate ourselves on the proper way to recycle it becomes almost second nature. If you are not from NYC please educate yourself on the recycling participation of your city, as each city is different. As in most cities, if a bin of recycling or even a bag isn’t recycled properly, the whole bag is thrown out.

When recycling, a clear white or clear blue bag must be utilized for the recycling to be picked up.

Mixed Paper Bin

In the bin labeled 'mixed paper' the following items can be placed:

• white, colored, and glossy paper (staples OK)
• mail and envelopes (window envelopes OK)
• wrapping paper (remove ribbon and tape)
• smooth cardboard (food boxes — remove inside & outside plastic wrappers — shoe boxes, tubes from paper towel and toilet paper rolls, cardboard from product packaging)
• paper bags
• cardboard egg cartons and trays (no styrofoam)
• newspapers, magazines, and catalogs
• phone books, softcover books (paperbacks, comic books, etc.; no spiral bindings)
• corrugated cardboard (flattened boxes)
• NO milk cartons & juice boxes, those go in the other recycling bin
• NO napkins, paper towels, or tissues
• NO photographic paper
• NO paper with a lot of tape or glue
• NO paper soiled with food or liquid
• NO hardcover books
• NO containers that have been waxed, i.e. take-out containers

Flatten and bundle large pieces of corrugated cardboard and tie with sturdy twine, or break into small pieces to place in your recycling bin or bag.

Beverage Cartons, Bottles, Cans, Metal & Foil

In the bin labeled 'beverage cartons, bottles, cans, metal & foil' the following items can be placed:

• metal cans (soup, pet food, empty aerosol cans, dried-out paint cans, etc.)
• aluminum foil wrap & trays
• bulk metal (metal furniture, cabinets, large appliances) must be placed outside of the bin. Certain items, i.e. refrigerators must have a appointment scheduled
• glass bottles & jars only
• plastic bottles & jugs only (with necks smaller than their bodies and caps must be taken off and thrown away)
• milk cartons & juice boxes
• household metal (wire hangers, pots, tools, curtain rods, knives*, small appliances that are mostly metal, etc.)
• *Wrap knives or similar sharp metal objects in cardboard (such as a piece of cereal box) and secure with tape. Label the package "CAUTION: SHARP" and place with other designated metal, glass, plastic recyclables.
• **NO plastic items other than plastic bottles and jugs, that includes all plastics containers
• NO plastic bags (please take to a local center that collects bags to be reused, i.e. Good Will, certain grocery stores and retail stores, etc.
• NO styrofoam
• NO batteries (reusable batteries CANNOT be discarded in the trash as they contain hazardous material. Please take to a participating store i.e. Duane Reade

** According to NYC.gov, at present, the ONLY plastics accepted by NYC's recycling program are plastic bottles and jugs. Over 90% of all plastic bottles and jugs are made of #1 PET and #2 HDPE. Plastic resins must be sorted by type before they can be used to make new products. The presence of even small quantities of “contaminating” resins can ruin an entire batch of recycled plastic. While some plastic yogurt and other wide-mouth containers are composed of #2 plastics, some are composed of other plastics, such as #5 (polypropylene) plastic. But even wide-mouth containers or plastic bags made from #2 plastics can't be recycled along with #2 plastic bottles because they are formed differently (injection-molded vs. blow-molded) and have different melting points.

For more information please visit: NYC's official website.