MORE PAPER RECYCLING CAPE GIRARDEAU

Cape Girardeau will soon address the question about what kinds of paper can be put out for recycling.

Beginning May 1, the city recycling trucks will take every kind of paper except plastic-coated paper. The new rule of thumb will be: If you can't tear it, the city won't accept it. Any other kind of paper can be hauled out to the curb.

This change will take much of the confusion out of paper recycling.

The city already collects aluminum, steel and tin cans, plastic containers, glass bottles and jars, newspapers, magazines and corrugated cardboard.

It is important that city residents still separate paper products. The two new categories will be chip board and gray board -- cereal boxes, shoe boxes, soda containers, cake-mix boxes and shirt boxes -- and mixed paper, which includes most everything else.

This increase in recyclables should help lighten the load for once-a-week trash collections in the city. It should also make recycling a little more user-friendly.