How to Recycle Phone Books

American phone books take up 650,000 tons of paper and take up two million cubic yards of landfill space per year. Much water and electricity also go into the production of phone books.

The fibers of phone books' light pages are too short to be reformulated into new paper, so many recycling centers will not accept phone books. Some will accept them, however, in order to produce new phone books, insulation materials, ceiling tiles, roofing surfaces, paper towels, grocery bags, cereal boxes, and office papers. In places where phone books are not accepted for recycling, people may shred a phone book's pages for mulch, or to help the pages biodegrade more quickly.

In order to prevent phone books from arriving at your address in the USA, you may "opt out" at http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/ .

Tips

• Alternatives to Phone Books: In addition to their negative environmental impact, phone books are an antiquated form of information. Most addresses and phone numbers are available online, and can be found by simple Google searches even if one does not know what web site to look for. Away from a computer screen, one may obtain business, residential, and government listings by calling "411" or "1-800-FREE411." There simply is no reason for environmentally-conscious citizens to continue using phone books.