That might be the hardest thing to answer when it comes to question about
recycling. Stickers fall under what you would call complex materials. These materials are hard to recycle not because of the material that they are made out of but rather because of the product’s unique properties. When it comes to stickers, the problem with recycling them comes because of the adhesive that is used in them. There is nothing bad about the adhesive per se, it is actually a recyclable material. The problem arises because of the effect that the adhesive can have on recycling machines. The adhesive used in stickers can actually gunk up recycling machines if it builds up in too copious of an amount. This is why most recycling plants refuse to even think about accepting stickers as a recycling product. It can wreak too much havoc on their machines and can lead to outrageous expenditures on repairing and maintaining machinery.
A Sticky Situation:
Another problem with recycling stickers is the coating that is applied to them to make them resistant to weather conditions. There are three types of coatings that are commonly used to coat stickers. These are silicone, PET plastic resin, and polypropylene plastic resin. Each of these coatings requires a different type of recycling than the paper that is used to make the stickers. That means that stickers would have to undergo a mixture of recycling processes to even be viable as recyclable materials. There is also the fact that traditional stickers are made of low quality paper that is not worth recycling because the yield that they give is low in terms of the effort and cost needed to recycle them.
Apply Baking Soda
Baking soda is believed to be one of the most effective life hacks for removing stickers and sticky residue. The science with baking soda is fairly easy as you are not required to do a lot of things. Take a few spoonfuls of baking soda along with your preferred water brand. It will create a paste which you can rub all over the affected area. Then allow it to sit for almost half an hour. Afterward, wipe it using a paper towel.
The second method is using cooking oil or coconut oil instead of water. Such a mixture is ideally the best for tougher sticky residue. However, cleaning it up will be a bit of a challenge.
Responsible Stickery:
There is hope though. Our stickers are designed to be recyclable because of two major factors. The first is because of the adhesive we use. We make sure that every sticker we make comes with a recycling compatible adhesive thus ensuring that even if they were to be added to recyclables they would not have any negative impacts on the machinery used to do just that. Then there are the facestocks that utilize. We have a range of facestocks that have been approved by the FSC so you know that we are practicing responsible forestry. This also ensures that we do all we can to be responsible business owners and honestly makes us feel more at ease because we can allow our customers a way to get the job done without having harmful effects on the environment.
Continuous Improvement:
That’s not where our responsibility stops though. We also offer numerous facestocks that have been made using post-consumer waste. This way you get the choice to utilize facestocks that you want without having to feel the guilt of impacting the environment negatively. We continually try to incorporate raw materials and processes that can lessen the impact that we as a company have on the environment. So to answer the questions, stickers aren’t traditionally recyclable but using our methods and materials we make sure that our stickers are.