Office Paper IGB Lab Special Instructions Paper Recycling IGB LAB USERS ONLY: Place non-contaminated paper in the main blue recycling bins in the lab. Upcycled Notepad You can collect one-sided clean paper for a DIY notepad. Staples, Labels and Stickers Are OK Paper can be recycled with staples, labels and stickers attached. These items are small contaminants that are removed during the recycling process. How Small Is Too Small? Sometimes small bits of paper cannot be recycled because they get lost in the recycling process. In general, try to recycle everything receipt-sized or larger. Find out what to do with shredded paper. Ways to Reuse Use Both Sides Always try to use both sides of a piece of paper for printing, copying and writing. Get a duplex printer if you want to print double-sided pages. Simplex printers are built to print on one side. Did You Know? Almost All Office Waste Is Paper In the office there can be a lot of paper waste because of reprints, bad photocopies and all of those paper memos. 90 percent of all waste produced by the average office is paper. The average office worker produces two pounds of paper and paperboard products every day. Why Shredded Paper Can Be Hard to Recycle Shredding a piece of paper shortens its fibers, which reduces its value. Shredded paper is almost too small to be useful to recyclers. It’s possible for shredded paper to contaminate the recycling process by slipping past the paper-making screens.