Poll: Saving Paper and...

[Ernie]

Vote and discuss.

And as usual, you can always tell us about other things you save or don't save.

[RZehr]

I have to occasionally just “print” and “copy” blank sheets of paper and throw them straight away, just to offset all you people who recycle and print on both sides. Somebody has to look out for the logging industry!

[Neto]

I did the best I could with the options available.
I basically reuse everything that is blank on one side. If a page has only half or less on a single side, I cut it in half and use the 5 1/2 x 8 12 page for special half-page printing tasks. (We have a shear paper cutter.) I also often write shorter notes on the back of envelopes received in the mail.
You all can wonder to your heart's content - Am I an extreme "tree hugger", or just a "tight wad", or both? Don't loose any sleep on it.

[QuietlyListening]

We reuse unfolded paper and also have gotten used paper from my husbands former office to copy on. We recycle paper but also start fires with it as we use transfer station and don't have garbage removal.
We try to recycle what we can of things but my husband worked for the county and knows that these days most of what we think we are recycling ends up in the landfill anyway as companies don't want to use recycled material.
I also cut up paper to use for lists/notes etc instead of buying paper for that.
I've gone to reusable covers and use far less plastic wrap or foil to cover things in the fridge.

[Grace]

I often save paper for other uses. If the bottom halves of paper sheets are blank I will save them, until I have a decent pile. Then I make writing tablets out of the blank paper, using scrapbooking/bookbinding glue for the top of the pages to bind the pages together. Granted it isn't as perfect as bought writing tablets, but it works. I also shred a lot of junk paper. We have a wood stove and I make fire starters out of the shredded paper. To make the starters I only buy eggs in cardboard cartons and then save them. I also purchase candle making wax off Amazon. Then I stuff each egg slot in the cartons with shredded paper, and pour the melted wax over them. After everything hardens each egg slot can be broken off and they make a nice size fire starter, that work far better than the bought fire starters. It is kind of a messy process, but it is worth the trouble. It also is an excellent way to recycle paper and egg cartons.

[Soloist]

Wife: We sometimes will save paper that isn’t overly written on, or, depending on what it is, we will either burn it or throw it away. We used to recycle everything we could, but our current house is on a private road and there’s only one other person with a recycling can and it was a pain getting the city to ever pick it up, so after several times of either having to call in or get missed, or occasionally have it picked up (noticing that the trash truck would often just make a second stop at our recycling can because it was rare that our city would actually have enough recycling people), our company switched to offering two trash cans instead of a recycling can, and we jumped on it. I think downtown, they stopped recycling altogether. It feels almost evil to throw away all the stuff I used to recycle, but also nice because we have two giant cans now that we can use for whatever we want.

We sometimes reuse ziplock bags and wash them, depending on what was in there, but not nearly enough, I think. We will often save the large cashew containers to hold random stuff. Damaged clothing and shoes and scraps of fabric go into one of the green boxes at store parking lots for textile recycling.

[mike]

My dad used to save every piece of paper with a blank backside, cut it into quarters, and use it to write down orders and notes at work. He also saved every envelope that could be salvaged, and used them for his employees' paychecks.

[Neto]

We take recycle items to the drop off point in our town. (I think there is an option to pay for this service (pick up), but we put recyclable plastics & paper in separate containers in our garage, then periodically haul it there.)

I often save the smaller-size short clear plastic containers with wide mouth lids, for storing screws and nails. (Remove the labels as well, so it is easy to see what is inside.)

We do often hear people say that a lot of the recycled items end up in the land-fill anyway, but we do what we can to create the possibility that it really will be recycled. Generally we do not recycle or discard in the trash pick up any papers that have nay personal information, including our address, etc. We burn those things, and often use trash cardboard to get a better burn of the more sensitive papers, or to help burn leaves. (I sometimes haul the leaves away as well, but the volume is pretty prohibitive, and WAY too much to mulch back into the yard or garden, although we do that as well with part of the leaves.)

[steve-in-kville]

We save newspapers for kitchen use, like frying bacon.

Paper trash gets burned in our burn barrel.

[JimFoxvog]

We burn those things, and often use trash cardboard to get a better burn of the more sensitive papers, or to help burn leaves. (I sometimes haul the leaves away as well, but the volume is pretty prohibitive, and WAY too much to mulch back into the yard or garden, although we do that as well with part of the leaves.)

We don't need all that pollution from leaf burning in the atmosphere. If you have neighbors it may well contribute to their health problems.

Leaves compost well. My 20 cubic yard pile becomes less than one cubic yard of good compost. As you have a garden you can use compost.