From Iceland — No More Throwing Away Paper

No More Throwing Away Paper

Published September 26, 2012

At the start of next month, it will be forbidden to throw out paper products as a part of household garbage.
RÚV reports that starting on October 1, all paper products and milk cartons will have to be thrown out with recyclables. Kjalarnes residents will have to begin this sorting on and after October 1, while residents of Vesturbær will have to do so after May 2013. To do so, households in Reykjavík will have two choices:
They can order a blue recycling bin for their home, if they do not already have one. These bins cost 7,400 ISK each, and can be ordered directly to your home by calling the city’s main line at 411 1111. Those who choose to go this route will also have to decide how many blue bins they will need, and also whether or not they could send back one or more green bins – for regular garbage – in turn, thereby reducing the garbage collection fee.
Reykjavík residents can also opt to take their paper products to any of the 80 larger recycling dumpsters found around the city.
The paper products are not recycled in Iceland, but are rather shipped to Sweden, where they are made into numerous products used in Europe.

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