AT HOME
Sticky papers are out
Recycle Now lists Post-it notes, sticky labels and paper tape among the paper items that can't be recycled. Sticky tape goes in the waste bin.
Check an itemStart
WHAT THE MILLS AND THE GUIDANCE SAY
The glue the mill
can't see.
To a papermaker, 'stickies' are a problem, not stationery.
When used paper is turned back into pulp, bits of adhesive from labels, notes, tape and box glue break into tiny tacky particles. Papermakers call them stickies, and UK recycling guidance keeps sticky papers out of the paper bin.
STICKIESthe mill's word for glue
Check an itemKeep in mind
- Clean paper recycles
- Sticky paper goes in the bin
- Strip loose tape from boxes
- Less glue, better pulp
THE SHORT ANSWER
Paper recycles well,
glue gets in the way.
Recycled fibre is a success story.
Adhesives are one of its stubborn problems.
IN THE MILL
Tacky specks in the pulp
A 2026 review explains that much of this material deforms and slips through industrial screens, so mills also rely on hydrocyclones, flotation and coatings to tame it.
What the glue does
BOXES
Strip the loose tape
Cardboard still recycles, but the guidance asks you to remove loose strands of tape from boxes and wrapping paper first.
Four habitsA QUICK BIN CHECK
Sticky or not:
where does it go?
Pick an item to see what UK recycling guidance says. The bar shows how welcome it is in household paper and card recycling.
From Recycle Now guidance for UK households. Rules vary by council, so check your own collection.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
High recycling,
tiny troublemakers.
One figure on how much paper packaging is recycled,
one on how small a sticky can be.
80.3%
Paper and card packaging recycled, 2025
Provisional UK figures for 2025 put the recycling rate for paper and cardboard packaging at 80.3%, second only to steel. Across all packaging the rate was 70.5%.
UK PACKAGING · DEFRA
100 μm
Screen slot that defines a 'macrosticky'
Test methods count stickies caught on screens with 100 μm slots (150 μm for packaging papers) as macrostickies. Smaller microstickies, below about 100 μm, pass through.
MACROSTICKIES · BIORESOURCES
A micrometre (μm) is a thousandth of a millimetre, so the slots that sort stickies are about a tenth of a millimetre wide.
FOUR HABITS TO TRY
Keep the paper
clean and dry.
None of these takes long. They follow Recycle Now's item guides, which say paper is valuable only when it is clean.
Step 1
Bin used sticky notes
Put sticky notes and sticky labels in general waste rather than the paper recycling.
Step 2
Peel tape off boxes
Pull off loose strands of tape before flattening cardboard for collection.
Step 3
Scrunch-test wrapping paper
If it stays scrunched and has no foil, glitter or tape, it may be accepted. Check your council first.
Step 4
Keep greasy paper out
Paper stained with food, grease, paint or dirt, including baking paper, can't be recycled either.
INSIDE THE PAPER MACHINE
Where the glue
ends up.
A 2026 tutorial review in BioResources names pressure-sensitive adhesives from labels as among the most often cited sources of stickies, along with hot-melt glues used to seal boxes and the binders in paper coatings.
Stickies can deposit on rolls, felts and dryer surfaces. The review notes this can make breaks in the paper web more frequent, stopping production until the sheet is rethreaded, and can leave visible blemishes on the finished paper.
Questions
Questions on the way
What are stickies?
It is the paper industry's name for tacky contaminants in recovered paper pulp, mainly from adhesives such as labels, hot-melt glues and coating binders. A 2026 review says they are most troublesome in mills without deinking systems.
Can I recycle sticky notes?
UK guidance from Recycle Now lists sticky papers, such as Post-it notes, sticky labels and paper tape, among the paper items that can't be recycled. Check your own council's rules.
Do I have to remove tape from cardboard boxes?
Recycle Now asks you to remove loose strands of sticky tape from boxes and wrapping paper where possible before recycling them.
Can envelopes with plastic windows be recycled?
Yes. Recycle Now lists envelopes, including those with a window, among the paper items that can be recycled.
How do mills remove stickies?
Larger stickies can be removed with hydrocyclones and smaller ones often by flotation. Mills also use detackifiers, which coat the stickies with a polymer or mineral so they stop sticking.
Destination