Close to 2-million phone books will be landing on front porches and door steps of Franklin County over the next few months. As they do, SWACO reminds residents and businesses that the old phone books are recyclable. SWACO provides residents over 200 drop off locations to recycle those old phone books.

Circulation numbers show that in a year's time, 2,123,810 Yellow Books or A-T-&-T Yellow Pages are delivered to local consumers and businesses. The majority of them will be delivered by the end of September.

Most of the phone books are printed on paper made from recycled paper, sawdust, or wood chips. Once the old books are recycled, they are made into products like new phone books, insulation, cereal boxes, bathroom tissue, shingles, and animal bedding.

SWACO Executive Director Ron Mills suggests residents add their old phone books to their regular recycling loads. "There is no need to separate the paper from the plastic and cans. Processors will handle the separation after SWACO crews collect the materials."

Residents can log on to www.swaco.org to find the SWACO recycling drop off center nearest them. For those that have curbside recycling, the phone books can be added to those recycling bins.

The American Forest and Paper Association estimates for every 500 phone books recycled, we save between 17 and 31 trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,077 kilowatt hours of energy.