Phone Directory Recycling Lauded

The recycling of Yellow Pages phone directories represents an excellent example of a recycling success story, says Bill Moore, president of paper and recycling industry research and consulting firm Moore & Associates, Atlanta.

According to Moore, the Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association (Yellow Pages IMA), Berkeley Heights, N.J., and the publishers of these directories (including the regional “Baby Bell” companies and others) have created an admirable model for recycling a product that had essentially a zero recovery rate in the 1980s.

Moore says several decisions were made that have created the recycling success story, including the following:

- The product has been designed for recyclability to make it more acceptable as a source of fiber for recycled paper mills. Steps taken included changing the binding glue to a water-soluble material and choosing a different stock for the highly coated/varnished covers. The original covers were likely to produce specks in recycled paper mills and the insoluble binding glues were a classic “stickie.” These redesigns made the directories much more recyclable.

- A collection and processing system was established, with the Yellow Pages IMA and the regional phone companies both fostering and staying involved in setting up collection programs in cities throughout the U.S. Both drop-off collection programs and encouraging phone book collection in residential curbside recycling programs have been emphasized.

- Makers of directory paper have also been encouraged to include higher recycled fiber content in the paper they produce. Many highly touted recycling efforts have not included this important step of stimulating the end market for recycle fiber to create a “pull- through” system, says Moore. The various Yellow Pages I.M.A. members have designated recycled fiber contents in their phone book products for a number of years, thus closing a loop on the system.