Brighter Planet

It’s always better to reuse a product before recycling it. Here are a few ways to get a little more life out of newspapers. It’s still ok to recycle the paper after any of these.

• Instead of polystyrene peanuts, use shredded or crumpled newspaper to pad delicate items or fill empty space.
• Use a little cleaner and a newspaper to clean windows and mirrors.
• Use colorful pages like the comics as wrapping paper for gifts.
• Stuff newspaper in shoes to absorb odors and moisture.
• Use newspaper as a quick-clean tablecloth for messy meals. Scrape the food scraps off before recycling.

A couple more ideas (these leave nothing to recycle):

• Plant a lasagna garden — you may want to avoid using colored sheets or newspaper inserts, as these sometimes contain toxic inks.
• Line your kitchen compost bucket with newspaper to make it easier to clean. When you empty the bucket, tear up the paper and throw it in with the rest of the compost. Again, you may want to avoid colored pages and newspaper inserts.
• Use a few crumpled sheets of newspaper to start your wood stove or charcoal barbecue.