The Post Office Box Lobby Recycling program is a project of the United States Postal Service (USPS) that was created on October 28, 2008, for consumers to recycle paper items, using recycling bins placed in the customer lobbies of post office buildings. Some of the goals of the program are to reduce the amount of paper waste going to landfills, which helps to reduce the consumption of fiber from trees used for paper production and greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste disposal. USPS receives revenue from selling the material, and no tax dollars are used to fund the project. USPS was reported as having recycled over 200,000 tons of waste in 2009, including paper, plastics and other waste.
Video USPS Post Office Box Lobby Recycling program
Participation
Some U.S. post offices do not participate in the program, and sometimes recycle paper items independently of the program, in bins in their employee work areas. Some reasons for non-participation are building space constraints and limited personnel at some U.S. post offices. At some post offices, mail received that is undeliverable is recycled. Some U.S. post offices (as of 2010) do not recycle whatsoever.
Maps USPS Post Office Box Lobby Recycling program
Timeline
In April 2010, it was reported that the number of post offices participating in the program had increased to 8,064.
In March 2009, the total number of bins was increased by 1,844, to a total of nearly 5,900 recycling bins.
Security
The program uses secure, locked bins that have a narrow slot opening to maintain privacy and thwart the potential of discarded mail being tampered with. If someone accidentally drops an item into the slot, they cannot reach in to retrieve it; instead, they must contact a postal worker for access.
See also
- Environmental issues in the United States
- Paper recycling
- Recycling in the United States
- Waste minimisation
References
Further reading
- Hayton, Tasha (March 5, 2010). "Dallas-Fort Worth post offices slowly offering recycling bins". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
External links
- (February 12, 2010.) "Recycling in Post Offices expanding." United States Postal Service.
- "Start a Recycling Program for Discarded Lobby Mail." Postal Bulletin 22334. United States Postal Service.
- "USPS: Sustainability." United States Postal Service.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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