Recycling Binders?

Question

Can you recycle plastic 3 ring binders?

Answer 1

No.  Basically anything that is not a pure material cannot be recycled.  Binders consist of plastic, sometimes cardboard underneath the plastic depending on the type, and metal.  If the covers to the binders are made of a single material, you can rip them off and recycle them.    You can rip the metal off and recycle it separately.

To find out what kind of plastic the binders cover is made of, check the chart in the resources.

Answer 2

I work in a small printers and we use a lot of binders and we have tried in vain to find some-one to recycle our bad/faulty binders,

Our suppliers have told us it is not financially viable to do.

Answer 3

I have a few right now in my car that I'm taking to the thrift store.

Answer 4

I don't know, but I'm curious to know the answer.  We receive a lot at our office and try to reuse them, but it seems like there are too many.

Answer 5

Well, you may not be able to recycle them, per se.  But how about finding someone who can re-use them?  Reusing something takes less energy than recycling.

Somewhere there is a teacher who wishes they had some 3-ring binders for the students.  Freecycle can bring the person who needs something into contact with the person who has that something.

Check out http://www.freecycle.org  This is a worldwide organization that acts locally to keep usable items out of landfills.  Members post items they are offering, and whoever wants that item responds by email.  The person receiving picks up the item, and no money changes hands.  That's why it's called "FREEcycle."  

My local group has over 4500 members, and all kinds of items find new homes every day. We keep lots of usable items out of the landfills this way.