Staples discarded per year?

November 12, 2006 10:49 PM

How many staples (metal pieces out of a stapler used to bind papers) are thrown away per year in the United States? In the world? Please cite a print reference if possible. Alternatively, I imagine that most staples are discarded. How many are produced?
posted by arrhn to Shopping (4 answers total)

Not exactly staples, but there are an estimated 20 billion paper clips sold each year
posted by fourstar at 11:25 PM on November 12, 2006

I don't know if most staples are discarded—many of them still go into storage files attached to countless receipts, invoices, and other such ephemera. A lot of industries still keep paper records of everything.
posted by limeonaire at 4:54 AM on November 13, 2006

Government employee here, and as limeonaire noted - don't assume that the bulk of them get discarded.
posted by fixedgear at 8:38 AM on November 13, 2006

In some government offices I've worked in, the files, after spending their requisite time in a fle cabinet were taken out, shredded, pulverized and turned to dust. The paper dust was seperated from the plastic dust and metal dust and everything was recycled.

Some of that metal would be staples, some clips.
posted by Pollomacho at 5:28 PM on November 13, 2006