Recycle This Pittsburgh

Newspapers

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Many people in the city still get a newspaper delivered or receive newspaper-like mailings like Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer or the Pittsburgh Pennysaver. Newspaper materials are accepted in the city’s curbside recycling program. Of course, do not include any plastic bags or rubber bands that may have come wrapped around your newspaper. Advertisement inserts printed on non-newspaper material are also typically ok for curbside recycling.

Sometimes paper recyclables can be contaminated through the single-stream recycling process used for curbside pickup in Pittsburgh. To improve the quality and value of your newspapers and other mixed paper items for city recycling, you can drop them off into the mixed paper dumpsters at the city’s drop-off centers (see below).

Drop newspapers off with mixed paper at city locations.

You can drop off newspaper with other mixed paper like construction paper, egg cartons, phone books, etc. at the city’s various drop-off locations. When taking to these drop-off locations, the city can collect these mixed paper products through a dedicated pickup and take them to a separate recycling processor, which is more valuable to the city and less likely to be contaminated by other items as in the single stream. When placing paper in a dumpster at a city drop-off center, do not use plastic bags– put it into the dumpster loose or in paper bags only.

Use shredded newspaper for composting.

Because newspaper is made of wood pulp and non-toxic dyes, it can be used as a source of carbon for residential composting. The best way to include newspaper in your composting is to shred it and make sure it is balanced out with a mix of other compostables. (More tips here.)

If you want to know more about composting in Pittsburgh, The Incline published a guide in 2018 that gives a lot of good information. PRC also hosts regular local workshops where attendees are taught how to compost and given a compost bin to get started with backyard composting.