What do I do with my product/packaging when I'm done with it?
We're so glad you asked! On all of our product pages, we have a specific instructions per product on how you can dispose of it when you're done with your product. Below, we've outlined some other important things to consider when disposing of your empty packaging:
- Industrial & Home Composting:
- To help the home composting process, we recommend cutting or shredding your paper product into smaller pieces so it is easier to break down.
- If composting industrially: make sure to check with your local municipality to see what is and is not accepted!
- Composting packaging with ink:
- While paper is carbon-based material, and an integral part of a composting set up, ink saturation can have a small effect on the quality of your compost. We're very conscious of the level of ink saturation on all of our products.
- Every drop of ink is made up of 3 different components: 1) a carrier, 2) a pigment, and 3) an additive. The carrier makes up roughly 75% of the ink, while pigments make up 10-20% and additives 5-10%. The carrier is the most well-known portion of the ink, and often what the ink is characterized as (aka soy-based ink, vegetable-based ink, solvent-based ink, etc.) While non-toxic inks, as well as vegetable-based and soy-based inks, are seen as safe for your compost, the pigment and additive portions of the ink is often overlooked. The pigment of the ink is usually derived from fossil fuels and chemically-based and additives can sometimes contain trace amounts of heavy metals (such as cobalt for blue colors). While these aspects make up a very small portion of the ink, and are still considered safe to include in your soil creation, we wanted to provide as much information as possible so that you can make the best decision for you and your compost. If you are creating compost to use for growing food, consider recycling your paper products instead, or keeping your ink saturated products to a minimum to avoid any leftover additives.
- Recycling
- General rule of thumb when recycling: Make sure all excess product is cleaned out and the container is dry.
- Paper tubes with potential oil saturation:
- Many recycling facilities to not accept oil-stained or saturated paper products. Please check with your local municipality to see what is and is not accepted. If this is the case, consider cutting out the oil-saturated portion of the product, composting it, and recycling the rest.
- Black plastic recycling:
- While this plastic is technically recyclable, black plastic may be hard to recycle for your specific municipality and some recycling centers do not accept it. We recommend recycling this through Terracycle.
