How to recycle common office and school supplies properly?

Most office and school supplies can be recycled, but only if two things happen. The item needs to reach the right recycling stream, and it needs to be made from a material that Australian recycling systems can actually process. Recycled paper, card, envelopes and manilla folders go in the paper recycling stream. Pens, markers, plastic-laminated folders and mixed-material items usually cannot go in kerbside recycling at all, and end up in landfill unless a specialist collection is used.

That second point is where most recycling guides stop short. What your organisation can recycle at end of life is decided at the purchasing stage, months earlier. A school that buys plastic-coated exercise books has already committed that cover to landfill. A council office that stocks eco friendly office supplies made from recycled paper, card and compostable materials has already done most of the recycling work before a single item is used.

This guide covers both halves: how to dispose of common supplies correctly, and how procurement teams can choose products that keep materials in circulation.

Why recycling start with what you buy?

Australian kerbside and commercial recycling handles paper and cardboard very well. It handles mixed materials poorly. A recycled paper notepad is a single material and recycles cleanly. A notepad with a plastic spiral binding and laminated cover is three materials fused together, and most recovery facilities will reject it or send it to landfill.

For schools, councils, government departments and businesses, this has a practical consequence. The simplest way to lift your organisation’s recycling rate is to standardise on mono-material, recycled-content products. Buyecogreen’s range of environmentally friendly stationery is built around this principle, with products made from recycled paper, FSC-certified timber, sustainable bamboo and biodegradable cornstarch rather than fused plastics.

Paper, copy paper and card

Office paper is the easiest win. Used copy paper, printed documents, letterheads and card offcuts all belong in the paper recycling stream. Keep paper dry and free of food contamination, and remove any plastic sleeves before binning. Staples and paper clips in small quantities are fine, as recovery mills remove them during pulping.

Shredded paper is a partial exception. The short fibres are harder to recover, so check whether your commercial recycling contractor accepts it loose or requires it contained.

Closing the loop matters just as much as correct disposal. When your organisation prints on 100 per cent post-consumer recycled stock, it creates demand for the very paper it puts in the recycling bin. Buyecogreen’s recycled paper and card range is made from post-consumer waste, FSC certified and Process Chlorine Free, which gives procurement teams verifiable credentials for sustainability reporting.

Cardboard and packaging

Flatten boxes, keep them dry and place them in the paper and cardboard stream. Waxed or plastic-laminated board cannot be recycled through standard collections. Cardboard deserves its own detailed treatment, and we have covered the types of cardboard, what each one is made from and how the Australian recycling process works in our full cardboard recycling guide.