Phone Book Recycling?

[Nick Danger]

Is it still possible to recycle phone books? If so, where are they accepting them? I found one here at the house, and there are quite a few where I work. I don't want to throw them away if there is still a place that will take them.

[Bumby]

The Met's recycling center @ 34th & Sheridan takes phone books year round.

[RecycleMichael]

We also take them year-round at our Broken Arrow center.

I am getting charged to recycle them now. The phone books are a very low grade of paper that is also full of ink and have some dificult to remove glue on their backing.

We will continue to collect them for recycling and will set up bins all over town again in November and December.

[TURobY]

Can we put them in our personal recycling bins? I'm hoping you say yes, because I just sent two with my recycling last week...

[Nick Danger]

I am getting charged to recycle them now. The phone books are a very low grade of paper that is also full of ink and have some dificult to remove glue on their backing.

I'm a little confused now. Does this mean that it is better to put them in the trash? It's hard for me to think like that, but what would be your thoughts? Sometimes the costs outweigh the benefits.

[Cats Cats Cats]

I'm a little confused now. Does this mean that it is better to put them in the trash? It's hard for me to think like that, but what would be your thoughts? Sometimes the costs outweigh the benefits.

This one is easy, I bet I can that one.  No don't throw your phone book in the trash.  Take it to a MET recycling center or see if your work has something setup to recycle phone books.  The MET wants you to recycle even though it isn't a profit center and any comments on recycling and cost has nothing to do with the fact that you should recycle everything you can and dispose of it properly.

-I am in no way affiliated with the MET and I bet they are pretty happy about it too

[RecycleMichael]

Thanks Trogdor...if you ever lose that high-paying gig and want to work for a non-profit, call me.

Yes, please recycle the phone books. Don't change your habits just because of lower market price of a commodity. The price will come back someday and throwing it away not only also costs money, but wastes (pun intended) any opportunity to make it into something new. Why make paper and boxes from trees when we can make them from paper?

Tulsa was the first city in America to organize a phone book recycling drive. Project ReDirectory now happens all across the country and has won national awards for it's impact.

Recycling makes jobs across Oklahoma. We employ 100 workers with disabilities at the M.e.t., the largest employers in Sand Springs and Muskogee are recycled product manufacturers and our state has over 5,000 jobs making recyclables into new products.

Recycling participation struggles in Tulsa , yet tens of thousands of us recycle every day, sometimes even paying more money to do it. Outside of going to church, it is the biggest volunteer activity in our community. No one forces you to recycle here, and still so many do. 

[Nick Danger]

Yes, please recycle the phone books. Don't change your habits just because of lower market price of a commodity. The price will come back someday and throwing it away not only also costs money, but wastes (pun intended) any opportunity to make it into something new. Why make paper and boxes from trees when we can make them from paper?

I'm glad to hear that -- it goes against my nature to throw these (or any recyclables) away.

[Cats Cats Cats]

Ok, I am starting to get pissed off about phonebooks.  1) we should be able to opt out of receiving them.  Can we?  2) who actually delivers them?  USPS?  They just drop it off and I didn't ask for nor want.  To me that is littering. 3) they have competing companies that give you 2 phonebooks now.  They hope you toss the first one when you get the 2nd I believe.  4) they reprint the whole damn thing and probably only 100 pages change.

[Cats Cats Cats]

"This got me thinking - shouldn't I be able to opt-out of automatic delivery? Wouldn't there be a significant impact if everyone stopped receiving phonebooks and yellow pages? Apparently the major players pumped out 540 million directories this year.

This is insane and wasteful and I want people to know they can opt-out. Below are the numbers to call for the major distributors of phone books and yellow pages (none have online forms as far as I know). Simply call the numbers and tell them you want to opt-out of delivery - it takes a few minutes. I called all the ones below myself.

AT&T/YellowPages (formerly SBC and Bell South):

1.800.792.2665

Verizon (Idearc):

1.800.888.8448

Dex:

1.877.243.8339

Yellow Book:

1.800.373.3280 or 1.800.373.2324

The major players use a tactic called "saturation distribution" that means that you may get books even if you don't have a land line.

PaperlessPetition.org is one of the only resources I found who is working on this issue. From their site:
"

I believe Tulsa is Yellow Book and Yellow Pages

I hope some of you cancel your phone books.  AT LEAST cancel 1 of the two you receive.

At least I get two

[sgrizzle]

Two? I get like 5-6.

I get a large and small AT&T Yellow Pages
I get the Tulsa Metro Yellow Book
I get the Windstream Phone Book
I got some white one on saturday, forgot what it's called.


Want to have an impact? They're free because of advertising. Harass the advertisers (or dump the books in the advertiser's parking lot) and they'll quit advertising.

[Cats Cats Cats]

Ok, so spend 1,000 hours cutting each advertisement out of the phone book and putting it in the respective parking lot.  I might have to weight it with a rock.  But then all of them will get the idea and I won't be getting phone books!  Your solution seems to be from a South Park episode

I think it might be easier to just call and ask them not to give me the phone book or I will call the police for litter.

Apparently some states require AT&T to deliver one to customers.

[sgrizzle]

Ok, so spend 1,000 hours cutting each advertisement out of the phone book and putting it in the respective parking lot.  I might have to weight it with a rock.  But then all of them will get the idea and I won't be getting phone books!  Your solution seems to be from a South Park episode

I think it might be easier to just call and ask them not to give me the phone book or I will call the police for litter.

Apparently some states require AT&T to deliver one to customers.

I meant the big advertisers on the cover.

[Cats Cats Cats]

I meant the big advertisers on the cover.

I didn't even realize there were advertisers on the cover.  Anyway, if they leave there is somebody else bidding $1000 less that will take their place.  If you receive a phonebook then they will count you as a user of a phone book to sell advertising.

[Red Arrow]

Unfortunately, I still let my fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages occasionally.  Mostly I just need to look up a phone number to call to verify a merchant has what I want in stock before I drive my car there. Sometimes I forget the exact address of places I only go to rarely. (Things like parts to fix the freezer or oven after the power outages last year.) Some of the things I need are available only across town or at least 10 miles away.  I don't have all those numbers memorized. I figure having the Yellow Pages wastes less than me driving all over the place. There have also been some businesses that I found in the Yellow Pages that don't have a web site, or at least none that I could find.  I have found some minor differences in the business listings between the competing Yellow Pages.  One didn't have any listing for a business I knew existed.

I still want a phone book.  I don't want two or three.  I certainly don't want the small one that is difficult to read even with my bi-focals.