Recycling of Telephone Directories
Interest in the recycling of phone books began in the late 1980s, when America was facing a landfill crisis. Space in the existing landfills was being depleted, with land suitable for sitting new landfills rapidly dwindling. Although old telephone directories (OTD) made up only 0.5% of all material going to landfills, the public’s perception, fueled by the media, was that OTD was a major problem.
At about the same time, several states were proposing legislation mandating that directory publishers collect all the old directories they had distributed. As of 1998, only one state in the U.S. had passed such legislation. Most realized that OTD represent only a small portion of the larger solid waste picture, and that to impose such restriction on only one type of waste producer was arbitrary and discriminatory.
Major directory publishers across America began their involvement in recycling programs at about the same time. A campaign in Jacksonville, Florida yielded 111 tons of OTD in one year. In 1991, the Yellow Pages’ Association (YPPA) implemented its first Environmental Council Action Plan, with annual updates following. The plan specified publishing guidelines for environmentally responsible directories and measures that could be taken toward source reduction. It also called for member publishers to “…work with local communities, governments, businesses and agencies to develop on-going programs for the collection and recycling of old directories”.
Impact on the Environment
Communicating the importance of recycling to the public is easier if they are aware of the impact of their actions. Commonly accepted figures for the resources saved by recycling paper may be used to show this. Each ton of paper recycled saves approximately:
- 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
- 17 trees
- 3700 pounds of lumber
- 24000 gallons of water
- 3 barrels of oil
Multiplying the tons recycled in a given campaign or state by these figures often gives impressive totals of resources saved.
Large figures are more meaningful, however, if they can be related to “real world” things that people can picture in their minds. For example, saying that “enough lumber to build 200 houses was saved” is more meaningful in publicity that saying, “1000 tons of lumber was saved” by recycling phone books. Using houses animals, football fields, or other visual objects allows people the amount in their mind. This is a more powerful message and will be remembered longer that mere numbers.
The Public-Private Partnership
Phone book recycling programs work best when they involve a mix of private firms and public-sector representatives. In most instances, cities and counties already have collection infrastructures for recyclables in place, as well as public education programs to promote these methods. Waste haulers and processors have a vested interest in the recycling industry, and may be willing to provide some services at cost or gratis in exchange for publicity, as well, and will usually assist with promotion or costs of the campaign. In fact it may be more cost effective to hire a Waste Hauler or Dumpster Rentals business to handle some of the steps or all of the steps in the process of collecting, hauling and recycling. In many cases, costs can be reduced by consulting with professionals to determine which steps in the process will be done internally and which should be contracted out.
Below are a few environmentally responsible Dumpster Rentals companies that can provide you with professional consultation and help you with your paper disposal and recycling needs:
- Hamilton Dumpster Rentals & Roll Off Container Rentals is a Waste Hauler business operating in Hamilton, Ontario.
- Roll Off Dumpster Rentals Dallas is a Roll Off Services & Waste Disposal company in Dallas, TX.
- Roll Off Dumpster Rentals in Seattle is a reliable Dumpster Rentals and Waste Hauling business providing paper recycling and disposal of waste in Seattle, WA and surrounding areas.
Electronic Recycling Process Setting Up Office Paper Recycling Program