What happens to them?

Two words: staple heaven.

Hello,

I'm pretty sure that they are magnetically separated after the whole bit is shredded, and before the paper is turned back into pulp.

ohh good. I was told I could drop them in, but I had my doubts.

I read a brief article on paper recycling plants in Scientific American. They won't let you read the article on their site, but you can find similar articles on Google. Recycling is a pretty complicated process.

My understanding is that the paper is pulped, and large contaminants are seperated mechanically. According to the SciAm article, adhesives are a bigger problem than staples. Still, not insurmountable.

Composites are a big problem. Shiny magazine paper is full of clay. Paper milk and OJ containers that are "lined".

Those convenient juice and milk boxes? Totally useless.

Really? No kidding. I guess I'll just have to chuck them instead of recycling them from now on.

(btw, out of curiosity: Is buying frozen OJ concentrate "greener" than fresh?)

Yout town should tell you what they will accept and what they won't.