THE brightly coloured sticky notes that many an office worker could not live without are an expensive nightmare for paper recycling plants. The same goes for envelopes, address labels and any paper with glue or gum on it. The residue on all these “stickies”, simply blocks up the recycling works. But enzymes are coming to the rescue.
Jim Fitzhenry from Buckman Labs in Memphis, Tennessee, says tiny particles of glue inside recycling machinery gums up the works.
Traditionally, recyclers tackle the problem with heavy-duty solvents that can be damaging to the environment. But since May, Fitzhenry’s team has been carrying…
