Post-it notes are certainly still a thing - and very a useful thing, I do understand that!
In fact, more than 50 billion post-it notes are sold worldwide each year. That represents a lot of paper waste that can be diverted from the landfill, as you can imagine...
One of the questions I often get asked when presenting our Sustainability Talks programme to businesses is: Are post-it notes recyclable?
Well, recycling programs that take mixed paper (i.e.: a wide range of papers, including junk mail, printer paper, newsprint, magazines and scrap paper) are usually accepting of sticky notes, too. These programs are capable of removing the self-adhesive, but it’s best to ask your local waste management company, just to be sure.
Back in 2017, one large local news channel (can you guess?) listed post-it notes as a material that can be recycled here in Ireland and that sounds rather encouraging!
On a more "official" note, 3M - the creators of the original Post-It - has conducted recycling trials on post-it notes at recycled paper mills. According to them, the adhesive on the paper does not interfere with paper recycling because the adhesive is substantially removed in the paper de-inking process.
As always, the best thing to do is to refuse the generation of new waste - but when it can't be avoided, then recycle surely does come in handy!
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