Valleywide : Recycling Program Now Includes Paper

Paper, paper, paper.

Residents of Los Angeles can now recycle it in the form of magazines, telephone books, computer paper and junk mail without leaving home.

Paper products make up nearly half of the city’s residential trash, and the new recycling pickup services are effective immediately through the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation’s expanded recycling program, a spokesman said.

“We are trying to avoid landfilling costs,” Silva said. “The more we can keep from the landfills, the better off we are in the long run.”

Paper, which can be tied or bagged, should be stacked alongside the yellow bins that contain recyclable cans, plastic bottles and glass jars, officials said.

In addition to newspapers, other paper products now available for pickup are envelopes, letters, cereal and snack-food boxes, colored paper and corrugated cardboard. Food-soiled or wet paper, diapers, plastic bags and Styrofoam are not recyclable through the bureau, Silva said.