Recycling staples is easy, and by doing so you will prevent sharp pieces of metal ending up in landfill. When you remove staples from paper or cardboard, mostly they end up in the bin, on the floor or lost in the back of a drawer. However, instead of throwing them away carelessly, keep them in a jar or pot and recycle them accordingly.

Recycle staples along with cardboard, paper or plastics. Whereas, most materials need to be separated from on another, staples can be left in with white paper, for example, and removed during the recycling process. You need to remove tape from cardboard, but staples can be left in.

Place any staples you need to remove from paper in a designated jar or pot. Then, encourage your work colleagues or family members to do the same, to prevent staples from ending up in the trash or loosely on the floor. This could clog the vacuum cleaner.

Take the jar of staples to a recycling point for metals when the jar is full. Staples are small so you may only need to do this once or twice a month, depending on how many you use. Supermarkets have recycling points in their car parks.