Paper Recycling

  • Every ton (2,000 pounds) of recycled paper saves:
    • 17 trees
    • 380 gallons of oil
    • 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
    • 275 pounds of sulfur
    • 350 pounds of limestone
    • 60,000 gallons of water 
    • 225-kilowatt hours of electricity

This equals 64% in energy savings, 58% in water savings and 60 pounds less in air pollution as compared to producing new paper.

paper recycling
  • According to the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), paper recycling has been at or above 63% every year since 2009 and 96% of Americans (268 million) have access to community recycling programs
  • Paper recovery exceeded 52 million tons in 2016, which is more than twice the amount of paper sent to landfills, by weight
  • More paper is recovered for recycling from municipal waste streams than glass, plastic, steel and aluminum combined
  • Through paper recycling, AF&PA member companies avoided greenhouse gas emissions of more than 20 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents each year

In fiscal year 2017, the Transfer Station recycled 418,060 pounds of paper, which means 209 tons of material was diverted from the solid waste stream and save the town $17,867 in disposal fees.

Recycling Paper at the Transfer Station

New signage installed indicates where paper goes (with the cardboard) and what kind can be recycled. There is also a section specifically for newsprint and magazines.

  • Paper board - cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, egg cartons
  • office paper and unpadded envelopes
  • colored paper
  • paper bags
  • newspapers and magazines

Avoid Contaminated Paper

Contaminated paper spoils the load and cannot be recycled. Please do not mix in paper that has been contaminated with food, such as take out packaging, coffee cups,  or paper towels/tissues and plastic-padded envelopes.