In the North Seattle Herald-Outlook's Feb. 21 issue, Leah Stahlsmith's article "Don't Let Paper Pile Up on You" advocates readers to toss their paper into the trash. "The bigger the trash can, the better!" she says.
Paper isn't garbage anymore!
Per Seattle Municipal Code, recyclables, including paper, are prohibited from residential and commerical garbage. Homeowners' garbage cans filled with more than 10-percent recyclables will not have their garbage collected until the recyclables are removed.
Why waste a good thing? About 25 percent of Seattle's garbage is made up of recyclable paper. Paper is a valuable recyclable commodity, and recycling paper and other items saves Seattle residents more than $4 million every year.
Shredded paper can even be put in your yard-waste cart, where it is made into compost for local gardens and parks.
Since passing the recycling law, Seattle's recycling has increased, now diverting 45 percent of all waste from the landfill. The city's goal is to recycle 60 percent of all waste by 2010.
Thank you in advance for correcting Ms. Stahlsmith's directive.
To find out more about recycling in Seattle and preventing waste, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Recycling/.
Brett Stav
Seattle Public Utilities
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