Paper Envelopes with Film Windows
- DO put them in curbside recycling
- DO consider opting out of junk mail to reduce how many envelopes you receive
About These Items
The City of Pittsburgh accepts these paper envelopes in curbside recycling, even with the plastic film windows.
Opt out of Junk Mail
While accepted by recycling, there’s a good chance that at least some of your envelopes come from unsolicited junk mail. You can opt out of these mailings. The Pennsylvania Resource Council has a guide that will help you cut your junk mail to nearly zero.
Drop off to increase value.
While the curbside pickup recycling is single-stream (meaning, all recyclables are combined together), starting in summer 2019 the city’s drop-off centers are collecting some items in a separate pick-up and send to a separate facility for sorting and recycling. This separation reduces contamination of recyclables and increases their value.
Mixed paper, including recyclable wrapping paper, is one of these items now being sent (at least some of the time) to a separate facility. So if you want your mixed paper items to have the best chance of being recycled and creating the most value, consider dropping off your mixed paper at one of these drop-off locations into the city’s mixed paper dumpsters. (Note that another of these separated items is shredded paper.)
When you drop off, the items are accepted in plastic bags. However, these bags will most likely be cut open and then discarded at the sorting facility, so consider using one of your larger paper bags for mixed paper (because it can also be recycled as mixed paper) or dumping your mixed paper loose into the dumpster.
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