People with old phone books laying around their homes can rid themselves of a little clutter in an environmentally conscious way when Carbondale Clean and Green kicks off its annual phone book recycling program Tuesday, an official of the group says.

People can take their old directories to 15 different businesses in Carbondale that have volunteered to serve as drop-off sites for the program, which ends Feb. 2.

Curb-side pick-up will also be available in Carbondale during this time. Residents should leave their books in blue recycling bins, preferably on top of newspapers, during trash collection for pick-up service.

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Peggy Melone, executive director for Carbondale Clean and Green, said the program, which is in its fifth year, grows each season.

We keep getting more phone books each year we do this, she said.

Last year’s program recovered 50 percent of the phone books issued in the area which ranked the initiative third in a sixteen-state survey done by GTE, Melone said.

The program has kept 173 tons of phone books out of local landfills over the last four years, according to Carbondale Clean and Green. Fifty tons were recycled last year.

Recycling the directories costs about $40 per ton. Expenses for the local program are being funded by a grant from the Lieutenant Governor’s office, GTE, the city of Carbondale, the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce and donations from individuals and businesses.

Melone said it is actually cheaper to throw the old books away but that the extra cost is justified by saving space in local landfills. She said most of the program’s expenses come from shipping the phone books to a market that needs them.