Can Damp Paper Waste be Recycled?
Filed under: Earth911 – November 3, 2008 Q. I just read your response to “Can I recycle newspaper with art supply paint on it?” You said that once paper gets wet it is no good to the mills. Does that mean that all those bags/bundles of paper that people put out for recycling the night before pickup are no good for recycling if they got wet? Should we put out our recycling in plastic bags? — Susan Meles, NJ A. Although we at Plenty are never, ever grouchy —not even when election day stress has all but put us over the edge and we’re about ready to take a sledgehammer to that car whose alarm has been blaring outside our NYC window for the past hour— we do have one thing in common with Oscar the Grouch. We love trash. We love treating it lovingly, and doing all sorts of loving and creative things with it—things like recycling, composting, and repurposing. And, yes, protecting it from the elements. It’s true that wet paper is tricky for recyclers, so do take a little care to make sure that
