There are various ways to dispose of paper, and it depends on the material and volume of your item in question, as they may either be difficult for a recycling plant to process or simply take up too much space in your own bin.

In general, if paper is food-soiled it should be composted and not recycled. If your paper is clean, then adhere to the following guidelines from the City of Kirkland.

Be sure to put these in your blue recycling cart and stack them vertically to minimize space used in the bin. Examples include printer paper, shiny paper, window envelopes, and magazines.

Cardboard boxes should be flattened out if smaller than 3 feet x 3 feet. If larger, it’s recommended that you cut the box up on opposing corners, as per official US recycling guidelines. They also go in the blue bin.

Firstly, ensure that any food items (if applicable) are removed from the container and that the container doesn’t have any liquids. Once done, flatten the box if necessary and recycle in your blue bin. Examples include cracker boxes, cereal boxes, and dried pasta boxes.

First ensure that the boxes are empty and contain no liquids in them (i.e if it’s an ice cream container, make sure you don’t have any leftover ice cream soup in the container). Throw away the lid and place the carton in the recycling bin. Examples include milk cartons and soup/broth boxes.

If you live in a city other than Kirkland, these guidelines should still apply with very few exceptions since paper is recyclable nearly everywhere.