• Newspapers and inserts; remove any plastic sleeves
  
• Magazines, catalogs, and phone books; remove any​ plastic sleeves)
  
• Office and school paper including notebooks, printer paper (white and pastel colors, matte and glossy finish), hanging file folders, pastel colored sticky notes (no fluorescent), glossy brochures, index cards, stationary, manila folders and envelopes. Remove large metal pieces such as binder clips and file hangers - staples and paper clips are okay. Remove any plastic items such as laminated​ report covers, sheet protectors, three-ring binders, etc.
  
• Junk mail; remove any obvious non-paper items like plastic cards or magnets
  
• Greeting cards without foil, glitter, or sound-making devices
  
• Construction paper without an abundance of glue, glitter or paint
• Chipboard/paperboard packaging. Examples include boxes used for cereal, crackers, and pasta, shoe boxes, soda case boxes, six-pack carriers, etc.; remove​ any internal plastic packaging.
  
• Pulpboard and cardboard egg cartons, drink holders and packing materials
• Cardboard tubes from toilet paper, paper towels and wrapping paper
• Corrugated cardboard; boxes must be flattened, tape and staples can stay on
  
• Clean craft paper bags (e.g., grocery bags, take-out bags, lunch sacks)
• Clean pizza boxes; you may need to tear the clean top from the greasy bottom
• Paperback books​
  

DO Recycle at a ​Recycling Center (but not curbside or in a dumpster)

• Shredded paper; place in a paper bag of any size and staple closed
• ​While shredded paper is recyclable, it becomes a contaminant in single stream recycling. Even if it's sealed in a paper bag, those bags are typically torn during transportation or processing. Kane County Recycling Centers take shredded paper directly to a pulper so there's no opportunity for contamination.
  
• Other very small pieces of paper; place in a paper bag of any size and staple closed (e.g., clothing tags, business cards, sticky notes, etc.)
• Bulk quantities of newspaper, magazines, catalogues, paperbacks, etc. all plastic sleeves removed
• Bulk quantities of corrugated cardboard (MUST be flattened)
• Hardcover books

The Kane County Recycling Centers take well-contained shredded paper and other small paper items, hardcover books, and bulk quantities of paper and cardboard.

DON'T Recycle; trash instead

• Sanitary paper products, including toilet paper, paper towels and paper napkins
  
• The fiber in these products is too low-quality to stand up to the recycling process
• ​If your hauler accepts food scraps with yard waste, check their rules for napkins and paper towels
  
• Cash register receipts and other thermal paper
  
• This paper has a special coating that allows registers to print without using ink. These coatings interfere with pulping.
  
• Dirty paper including paper plates, fast food wrappers or boxes, pizza boxes with grease, butter wrappers, and carry-out bags that are covered in food or grease.
  
• Food contamination, particularly with grease, prevents successful pulping. Too much grease can actually ruin entire batches of paper.
  
• Paper cups and tubs (for both hot and cold beverages and food items)
• ​Paper is not waterproof. Paper cups and tubs are made with a thin plastic coating that enables them to hold liquid.
  
• Paper take-out cartons
  
• Same story as the cups - they have to be coated in plastic in order to hold liquid, which prevents pulping.
• Waxed paper and wax-coated cardboard
  
• Gift wrap, gift bags or greeting cards with, glitter, foil, plastic appliques, lights or sound-makers
• Tissue paper
• Fiber quality is too low for recycling​
• Carbon paper
• Laminated paper
• Neon/"astrobright" paper
• The dye load is too high to be recycled with other paper

Paper Recycling FAQ

Do I have to remove staples, paperclips, and plastic envelope windows from my office paper before recycling it? ​No! Paper pulp is strained as part of the recycling process, and all these little contaminants get strained out. Contamination of paper is mostly an issue when the contaminant is absorbed by the paper (e.g. a greasy pizza box, or when glop spills out of a plastic or metal container and gets onto the paper in a single stream).

Do I have to remove tape from shipping boxes to recycle them? ​Not fully. You do need to cut or remove the tape at least enough to flatten the box. However, plastic tape will be strained out as described in the previous question.

Are you sure I can't put my shredded paper in the recycling bin if I bag it? ​Yes, very sure. Plastic bags are a menace in single-stream recycling, and paper bags are sure to rupture during transport, leaving tiny pieces of paper everywhere. ​

If a paper item has the recycling symbol on it, I can recycle it, right? ​Not necessarily. Unfortunately, there is very little regulation about what gets the "chasing arrows" symbol. Please use the information above irrespective of whether your item bears the recycling symbol?