Other Paper Products

TROC's curbside paper mix includes other types of paper found in most households. Nearly 40% of all magazines were recovered in the U.S. in 2005, according to EPA. Similar to catalogs, this stream consists of high-grade fiber brightened with kaolin (made from clay), which can be be blended with recovered newspapers to make newsprint.

Junk Mail refers to various forms of bulk mail postcards, flyers, letters and envelopes. Some of these items include higher grades of paper, but current technology does not allow for economical recovery of all of the various types of junk mail to be separated, and it is mostly blended with other recovered products.

Many Connecticut residents are not aware that regulations for recycling telephone directories were passed by the state legislature in 199??. Nationally, the 2005 recycling rate for phone books was slightly under 20% according to EPA. WMRA-Kensington produces bales of recovered low-grade papers made from phone directories and similar materials as feedstock for paperboard, which is made of multiple layers of paper bonded together to make a rigid, board-like product used for consumer goods such as crackers and cookies, cereals, juice, and frozen foods, as well as laundry detergent.

ATT/SBC maintain a variety of locations throughout the state for handling old phone directories, and residents can call a toll-free number at 1-800-953-4400 to find nearby locations and instructions.