Tips on Recycling Paperboard

Here are a few tips for optimizing your paperboard recycling efforts:

1. Remove liners. Many of your food packages will have a plastic bag separating the food from the paperboard. This helps keep the paperboard clean, but the plastic bag should be removed prior to recycling.
2. Prevent oil/water stains. If paperboard is stained with any sort of cooking oil, it becomes unrecyclable. If it gets drenched with water, the fibers shrink, making it less valuable. Keep food away from your paperboard recycling bin, and don’t put your paperboard recycling out in the rain.
3. Separate when needed. If you’re recycling different types of paper at once, make sure all types are accepted in your curbside program or at your drop-off center. Adding paper that isn’t accepted could mean that the whole batch will not be recycled.