Can You Recycle Spiral Notebooks?

Spiral notebooks have designs in various sizes and beautiful colors. They give a warm feeling and a different feeling from laptops. Mainly when used in writing or storing information, their versatility is of great importance. Its utility is for anything that a regular notebook can do.

Now, can you recycle spiral notebooks?

Given the fact that spiral notebooks have much more value than a regular laptop and that they are profoundly and or lightly bonded with spiral binds, disposing of them can be a thing of contention. Maybe you are among those asking, can you recycle spiral notebooks? Well, the answer is yes, you can recycle spiral notebooks.

So, that’s it about recycling spiral notebooks. Continue reading to get more knowledge about this topic!

What Are Spiral Notebooks?

Spiral notebooks are single detachable pieces of notes held jointly by spiral binds. History has it that the first conception and use of the idea were during 60 A.D. in the Roman Empire. The idea came as a result of trying to copy the Christian Holy Scriptures written on different scrolls. In an attempt to develop the Bible by putting all the manuscripts together, the spiral bind idea came into play.

They wrote the scrolls on different pieces of paper that had holes at the edges. These holes knitted the documents together with a wire, which is like a spiral bind. During this period, scholars moved around with notes held together by cables and flexible coppers. So, the Romans are famous as the pioneers of the spiral notebook.

Although it was to create the Bible, in recent times, the idea has developed and modified in creating other excellent contents like spiral notebooks, calendars, etc. Our focus in this article is the spiral notebook, which has gained ascendancy and worldwide acceptance in these modern times. The spiral notebook is easily detachable, has unique pages joined by one or more spiral binds, created in diverse sizes, and have beautiful designs.

The official date of its release was in 1934. An unknown author published in a magazine how people can create a spiral notebook. Maybe the reason the author did not see the need for taking accolades for the work is still a mystery. However, the instructions written in the magazine were handy in creating spiral notebooks.

Those interested and fortunate enough to have read the instructions were able to generate their homemade spiral notebooks. Teachers deemed it fit to teach their students, and workers also began to use the spiral notes.

The spiral notebook has been around since then, with no individual or company claiming to be the inventor. Though in contemporary times, there are companies that are significant in the creating and development of spiral notebooks.

Uses Of Spiral Notebooks

Like every other notebook, the spiral notebook is versatile and flexible for use. It is functional in the office, home, church, etc. There is no limit to what, how, and where to use a spiral notebook. Its usage is mostly dependent on the owner or purpose of purchasing it. Here are some of the things and places where they are useful.

Home/family use

The home or family is one of the many places a spiral notebook can function. Its beautiful designs and different sizes make it a note that you can notice quickly in homes. Its uses include the following:

Family information book: The spiral notebook is useful in storing information in the family. The detachable pages held together to make it very easy to flip to the next page to access information with ease and velocity. You can write vital details such as wedding anniversary, birth date, etc. on the spiral notebook to locate it in the future quickly.

Liken to a calendar and used as a memorial: The spiral notebook can serve as a memorial for important dates. It can be on the table, shelf, television stand, as a reminder for awesome moments, and events. You also boldly write the years of these events in the spiral note and place it on these visible places. It helps one remember important dates easily.

Used as a to-do list and assignment book: One can list out one’s schedules and write them on the spiral notebook for easy access when needed. You can also write out your daily to-do activities on it and keep it in an open place were one’s eyes can easily pick them.

They can serve as assignment reminders for the children or adults in the family, depending on who has an assignment. You can also use them to assign different home chores to the children and later refer to it for retrieving specific tasks.

Workplace/office use

A spiral notebook is not only for home use. It is also useful in workplaces or offices. Some of their applications at the workplace or office include:

Work Journal: You can use it to systematically and adequately record jobs done or not yet done, etc. You can use it to summarize the total work you need to do in a day and refer to the pages to tick successful jobs done. You can also use them to record your criteria and standards expected to achieve in your workplace.

Record research and critical points: Your spiral notebook can serve as your companion when researching for a job. It can be in your leisure time or out in the field, and you can safely record critical points at all times on your spiral notebook. It helps you to remember them when needed.

Usage in schools

Since it has different sizes, a small spiral notebook can pass for a jotter. To jot findings not written in your primary notebook. You can also conveniently take it to school events and tutorials to jot down discoveries and small lecture points.

General usages

Religious assemblies: A beautiful spiral notebook can serve as a great companion as you go to your religious meeting and jot down teachings from your spiritual leader.

Gift: Spiral notebooks can be gifts to friends and relatives on their birthday anniversaries, weddings, and the likes.

These are some of the several purposes that a spiral notebook can serve. However, there is no limit to what you can use the spiral notebook for, there are other uses not highlighted in this article.

How To Aid Recycling Of Spiral Notebooks

Recycling of spiral notebooks is not different from that of a regular notebook, though held together by plastic or metal binds. In a situation where the spiral bind is metal, some people might desire for proper ways of recycling them. To prevent children from getting injured by the spiral binds, here some means of aiding the recycling of a spiral notebook.

Remove the bind before disposing of the papers

You can remove the bind from the edge of the papers; fold them into a tiny ball before dropping the documents in a recycle bin. By doing this, the papers will cover the binds, hindering children or anyone from gaining access to the spiral binds.

It will also make the papers easily slide to the bottom of the bin, relax, and firmly cover the bind.

You can also decide to put the spiral bind between the papers after removing it. Fold them with the papers and dispose of them.

The weight of the bind will push the papers to the bottom of the bin. Hold the papers, and at the same time, the binds are safely out of sight. You have to do it this way because most recycling centers are yet to have the mechanism for removing binds; the recycling machine mainly focuses on recycling the paper alone.

Remove any additional accessories from the papers

Other accessories can be staples, paper tape, etc. They are referred to as contaminants during recycling. The recycling process is done mainly on the papers/notebook. The papers go through a process that is called pulping.

Pulping involves a mixture of chemicals and water together with the papers. The process requires chopping paper and mixing it with water to soften it, and then you add chemicals to erase the colors. At this point, you heat the solution to form paper fibers and turn it into a slurry. The slurry goes through a cylinder that boreholes for spiral bind to get fixed.

If there are contaminants in the slurry, they go into a cone that removes the pollutants, which might leave scratches on the papers. So, it is helpful to remove these contaminants before dropping the notebook for recycling.

Advantages Of Recycling Spiral Notebooks

It helps to reduce the cutting of trees. Trees are one of the sources from which papers we get paper. Recycling of spiral notebooks will reduce the cutting of trees since we can recycle and reuse old spiral notebooks.

Another advantage is that the recycling of spiral notebooks helps to reduce the burning of papers that cause air contamination. It also makes spiral notebooks available and cheaper to get from stationery shops.

Conclusion

Recycling of spiral notebooks is better and has more advantages than disposing of them in the trash can. I believe this article helps to bring clarity to the question, can you recycle spiral notebooks?

Can You Recycle Spiral Notebooks?

What Are Spiral Notebooks?