MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --
Members of Malmstrom Air Force Base may not be aware of federal law 40 CFR § 246.200-1, which mandates the recycling of office paper on federal installations. The law specifically states, “High-grade paper generated by office facilities of over 100 office workers shall be separated at the source of generation, separately collected and sold for the purpose of recycling.”
Malmstrom complies with this mandate by contracting for biweekly office paper pickups. The majority of buildings have 90-gallon, grey office paper recycling containers located in their facilities. The containers belong to the contractor and are assigned to the facilities and shall not be removed from their assigned facilities for other purposes. Knowledge of the proper way to recycle office paper lowers disposal costs, obtains revenue from the sale of the paper, conserves trees and reduces air, water and land pollution.
What office paper is recycled on Malmstrom? White or natural colored high-grade paper such as: white typing paper, computer printout paper, index cards and tabulating cards. Staples and paper clips are okay to recycle.
Shredded paper can be recycled as long as it does not contain an unacceptable level of contaminants. Place plastic bags of shredded paper into the 90-gallon recycle containers.
In recent months there has been an increase in garbage and other non-recyclable materials being placed in the office paper recycling containers. This has resulted in increased costs and the containers not being picked up, as it requires additional man hours to have the container emptied, and all the effort and time expended by your coworkers to properly recycle is wasted. Bottom line, if the containers are not being used properly, money is being wasted. This is a mandated program and is everyone’s responsibility.
All this adds up to the fact that it costs money that could be used for more important things. So it is up to the members of Malmstrom to do the right thing and take those few extra steps to put trash in a garbage container and not the paper recycling containers, or any bin specifically designated for recycling.
For additional information on office paper recycling, contact your building facility manager. Blue office recycling containers are available by request from Pollution Prevention at 731-6163.
For more information, contact Frank Carpenter at 731-6448.