Is Junk Mail Recyclable?
Communication has always been an important part of human lives. From existence, humans have always found a way to establish communications with one another. Even though the process and means of communications have changed greatly, the place of communications is still important.
Nowadays, we can simply put a phone call to a friend thousands of kilometers away and speak immediately. In the past, with letters, this would take several months to happen. The ease that comes with communicating in today’s works is something we would cherish forever.
However, there are still problems with missed communication channels. This is particularly common with mail. For both manual and electronic mail, the problem remains the same.
These messages that we just ridiculously find in our mail are what we call junk mail. Often times, they are unsolicited advertisements. When we get these messages, we often don’t have need of them. And sometimes, they just keep coming and piling up.
These junk mails could cause nuisance, and we need to get rid of them. Since this has been the case for many people, what can they do about them? Can we recycle junk mail? Can we shred them instead? What other thing do we even need to know about junk mail?
The answer to all these questions is all in this post.
All you have to do is sit back and enjoy reading.
Can You Recycle Junk Mail?
This is an important question that many people today find urgent answers to. Junk mails can constitute a nuisance in our mailbox, homes, or offices. The best thing is to get rid of them.
And one of the easy ways to get rid of something is to think about recycling it. So, the question of whether you can recycle junk mail is as valid as anything else.
Now to the question. Yes, you can recycle junk mail.
The reason for this is quite simple. Mails generally come in papers. So, even where it is junk mail, it still appears in the paper.
For many years, the paper has always been an easily recyclable material. All you have to do is follow these easy steps.
Gather Your Junk Mail: The first is for you to begin to gather all the junk mails you have collected in the past few months; make sure you clear your home and mailboxes.
Pack Them Together: Once you have gathered the junk mails, you can then begin to pack them. This would allow you to tidy up the whole place. You can pack the junk mail in bulk.
Put Them In The Recycling Bin: This is the last thing you have to do. Take your packed junk mail and put them outside where your local recyclers would pick them up.
Are All Junk Mails Recyclable?
Like you already know, junk mail can be a big nuisance. You just want to get rid of them. But, before you do, you want to find out if you can just toss all your junk mail in the recycling bin.
This is a good concern, and it’s great that you are asking a question about it. Well, let’s walk you through the answers.
Indeed, junk mail is paper materials; however, some contain additional materials. In this instance, there could be a thin layer of transparent plastic known as a foil.
For this kind of junk mail, they are not recyclable. Here’s the reason why they are not.
When recycling paper, recyclers would have to break the paper in water to make a mesh before they proceed. For ordinary paper, this is quite easy. However, for papers that have foil, this is not the case. The reason is that this foil would prevent the break down of the paper.
If the paper with foil does not break down, it will contaminate the rest of the recyclables. And this can mean a double problem for the recycler.
In order to then avoid this, recyclers have decided to exclude the paper with foil. This would necessarily include all junk mail printed on a paper with foil.
So, when next you are sorting your recyclables, always be cautious of the junk mail paper with foil.
For you to know the junk mail with foil, you have to take note of some things. First, you have to consider how shiny the junk mail is. If the junk mail has a shiny texture, it is mostly junk mail paper with foil. If it does not, then you may put it in the recycling bin.
Another way to know is to try to squeeze the paper. If the junk mail paper unfolds immediately, it is most likely a paper with foil. You can also try to tear the paper. If it comes very easily, then it is most likely without foil. But if you find it hard to tear, it is probably junk mail paper with foil.
These are the easy ways to tell a junk mail paper with foil from those without foil.
In all, all your junk mail paper without foil belong to the recycling bin. Those with foil can’t go there. You can repurpose them to make decorations or cover stuff in the kitchen or other places.
Can Envelopes With Stamps Be Recycled?
Having mails delivered to you? You would have come across different envelopes. One of the most common ones is the envelopes with stamps.
Due to the frequency of use of these envelopes, we can raise a recycling concern for them too. But, before we put them in the recycling bin, we have to first confirm if you can recycle them.
The good news is that the stamps don’t prevent the envelopes from getting recycled. You can also put envelopes with stamps in the recycle bin.
These envelopes are paper materials, and the stamp won’t necessarily stop them from breaking down. If the reverse was the case, then it would be impossible for you to recycle them.
So, the next time you come across envelopes with stamps, and you have doubts in your mind, think about this post. Grab them and toss them in the recycling bin.
Should You Shred Junk Mail Before Disposing Of Them?
In this world of information and bad guys fighting to get hold of people’s data, we all should be careful. Normally, you should shred all documents that contain personal information. This is important so you can destroy any information about yourself that could come into the bad guys’ possession.
For the junk mail, it might seem that you don’t have to shred them before disposing of them. However, to be on the safer side, you should shred them. The reason for this is a little bit farfetched, but it still makes sense.
There is the possibility that the junk mail would contain some of your information. So, to be on the safe side, you should shred the document. Once you shred them, you can then put them in the recycling bin.
In all, always remember that it’s better to do the extra thing and be safer than do ordinary things and be sorry.
5 Genius Ways To Do With Your Junk Mail
One of the things you can never find missing on our posts is how to repurpose seemingly useless things. We all dish them out to you as our life depends on it.
For the junk mail, we are not falling short of our expectations. We have explained clever ways to put your junk mail to use. All we require from you is to be willing to deploy your creativity. With this, you are sure to get the best from what we have for you below. Sit back and enjoy.
1. Use For Fire Place
One of the biggest arguments of this century is how to save the environment, and that involves saving the trees. But there is the wintertime, where you need all the warmth you can get.
For this, using dry woods has always been a common and easy thing to do. But, what if we told you that you could reduce the use of wood and save trees?
With junk mail papers, you can support the fire in your fireplace and reduce the number of woods you use daily. All you have to do is make a brick paper’s newspaper or log maker’s paper. Doing this would sustain the burning of your paper and make it last.
So, there you have it, reduce the wood you use during winter. Grab the junk mail paper and make the fire you need.
2. Make A Packing Material
Do you ever find yourself lost on what to use to package that precious gift? You don’t have to be when you have a pack of junk mail materials.
All you have to do is use your clean junk mail material to wrap any present and tape it. You can add some creativity and paint the junk mail paper. Ensure you give it a great contrasting color to bring out the beauty of the packaging.
3. Make Bedding For Your Pets
You should not have to worry too much about your pet’s bedding. With junk mail papers, that’s the end of your problem.
You can use your junk mail paper to line up your pet’s cage. This would create warmth for your pet. And, since you are not paying anything for this, it’s very easy. All you have to do is get your junk mail paper and change the bedding of your pet.
4. Make A Funnel
This is another genius idea you can try with your junk mail paper. If you can’t find your funnel, you can easily create one.
All you have to do is tear a large sheet of your junk mail paper. After this, you should fold it around. Your goal is to make it into a cone-shaped funnel with openings at both ends.
With this, you can use it to refill whatever you want to. Though temporary, it should serve you for the main time till you are able to recollect where you put your funnel.
5. Make Compost
Papers are from trees, so they can make great compost for your garden. If you’ve some junk mail paper, you can put them in your compost bin to make compost. This is very easy, and your plants would love it.
However, you must be watchful of the junk mail papers you put in the compost bin. If you’ve previously used your junk mail paper to clean chemical, oil, or paint, you shouldn’t put it in the compost bin. This is because it would contaminate the rest of your compost material due to the oil, chemical, and pain.
Hence, you should take out any soiled junk paper.
Conclusion
Your correspondence may mean a lot to you, but when it comes to junk mail, they are negative. Dealing with them the proper way requires knowing what to do. What you have learned in this post is everything you need to know to properly deal with your junk mail paper.
References:
https://www.networx.com/article/9-awesome-uses-for-junk-mail
https://everythingwhat.com/can-you-recycle-envelopes-with-stamps
https://www.paperrecycles.org/media/blog/paperrecycles-blog/2018/05/22/do-you-know-how-to-recycle-all-the-different-types-of-mail-you-receive
