Most paper you encounter daily is recyclable, including office paper, newspapers, cardboard, magazines, junk mail, and cereal boxes. The exceptions are papers contaminated with food, coated with wax or plastic, or made from fibers too short or degraded to be repulped. Knowing the difference keeps useful material out of landfills and prevents contamination that can ruin an entire batch of recycling.
Paper That Goes in the Bin
The following types of paper are widely accepted by curbside recycling programs across the United States:
- Office and printer paper: White and colored copy paper, notebook paper, and letterhead.
- Newspapers and inserts: Including the glossy advertising supplements.
- Magazines and catalogs: The coatings used to make pages glossy are clay-based and fully compatible with recycling.
- Junk mail and envelopes: You do not need to remove stamps, labels, or plastic address windows. During repulping, non-paper materials like plastic windows are filtered out automatically.
- Corrugated cardboard: Shipping boxes, moving boxes, and any cardboard with a wavy inner layer. Flatten them to save space.
- Boxboard: Cereal boxes, tissue boxes, cracker boxes, shoe boxes, and similar thin cardboard packaging.
- Phone books and greeting cards: Standard cards recycle fine. Cards with glitter, foil, or battery-powered components do not.
- Sticky notes: Any mill that processes mixed paper can remove the adhesive.
Paper That Cannot Be Recycled
Some paper products look recyclable but contain materials that interfere with the pulping process or contaminate the finished product. These fall into a few broad categories.
Food-contaminated paper is the most common problem. Greasy takeout containers, used paper plates, and napkins soaked with sauce or oil cannot be recycled because the grease binds to paper fibers and weakens the recycled product. However, pizza boxes are more nuanced than most people think. Research from The Recycling Partnership found that residual grease and cheese in the bottom of a pizza box present no real issue to recyclability, as long as the box is empty of leftover food. At the levels of grease typically received by recycling facilities (under 2%), the strength of the resulting recycled product is barely affected. So toss that empty pizza box in the recycling bin.
Wax-coated and plastic-lined paper resists the water-based pulping process. Wax paper, freezer paper, and most disposable coffee cups fall into this category. Coffee cups have a thin plastic lining that keeps liquid from soaking through, and only about 14% of U.S. communities accept them in recycling programs as of mid-2025. The mills that can handle cups actually represent more than 75% of the country’s mixed paper processing capacity, so acceptance is growing, but check your local program before tossing cups in the bin.
Tissue paper and shiny gift bags are made from fibers that are too short or too degraded to be turned into new paper. Wrapping paper with metallic foil, glitter, or a plastic coating also falls outside what recycling facilities can process.
The Problem With Receipts
Thermal paper, the shiny, slightly waxy paper used for most cash register receipts, should stay out of your recycling. These receipts are coated with chemicals called bisphenols (BPA or BPS) that develop ink through heat rather than traditional printing. When thermal paper enters the recycling stream, those chemicals contaminate the recycled pulp and can end up in new paper products like napkins, paper towels, and food packaging.
BPA is classified by the U.S. EPA as toxic to the reproductive system and absorbs rapidly through the skin into the bloodstream. BPS, marketed as a safer alternative, has been classified by the EU Chemicals Agency as toxic to reproduction and endocrine-disrupting. Keeping receipts out of recycling is one of the simplest ways to prevent these chemicals from spreading through the paper supply.
Shredded Paper Requires Special Handling
Shredded paper is technically recyclable, but the short fiber lengths make it tricky. Loose shreds jam sorting equipment and scatter during collection, which is why many programs ask you to bag shredded paper in a clear plastic bag before placing it in the bin. This is one of the rare cases where bagging recyclables is actually encouraged. If your local program doesn’t accept shredded paper curbside, composting is a good alternative since the small pieces break down quickly.
Do You Need to Remove Staples and Tape?
Paper mills are equipped to filter out staples, paper clips, and small pieces of tape during the pulping process. You don’t need to spend time pulling staples out of documents or peeling tape off cardboard boxes. That said, large amounts of packing tape on a box can slow things down, so peeling off what comes easily is a reasonable habit. Paper clips and binder clips are worth removing simply because you can reuse them.
A Quick Way to Judge Any Paper Product
If you’re unsure about a specific item, ask two questions. First, is it mostly paper fiber without a plastic or wax coating? Tear a corner: if it tears cleanly along the fibers, it’s likely uncoated paper. If it stretches or reveals a shiny inner layer, there’s probably a plastic lining. Second, is it free of food residue? A few crumbs or a light grease spot won’t cause problems, but a container soaked in oil or sauce belongs in the trash or compost bin.
Local programs vary in what they accept, particularly for items on the borderline like paper cups, cartons, and hardcover books. Your municipal recycling website is the most reliable source for your specific area. When in doubt, leaving a questionable item out of the bin is better than contaminating a load of otherwise good recyclable paper.