New phone books are arriving at homes around Anchorage this month. So what do you do with your old ones? Give them a new purpose by recycling them.
I opened a mysterious square door in my closet ceiling recently and thousands of bits of shredded phone book tumbled out onto my head. Some phone book publishers, like the Berry Company, collect out-dated versions of the massive tomes to shred and re-purpose as home insulation and garden mulch. They have collection points around Anchorage until the end of July.
Berry Company Alaska branch manager Chris Vaughn says their “Think Yellow, Go Green” campaign aims to keep phone books out of landfills. Last year, they collected 38 tons of them.
You can recycle your new Yellow Pages too, but Vaughn says most people still use them. “There are less people using the phone directory. But when they say it’s dead, it’s not.”
Vaughn says their research shows 75% of consumers used the print yellow pages in the past year. Fifty percent in the past month. He says it’s another tool in comparison shopping that’s especially useful for small and medium sized businesses.
The Berry Company is collecting old phone books at Fred Meyer stores around Anchorage, the UAA Arts Building, and other locations until the end of the month. They can also be recycled along with your mixed paper at recycling facilities across the city.
You can opt out of receiving the phone books by going to www.yellowpagesoptout.com.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her atahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annehere.
