Environmentally Benign Linerless Self-Adhesive Coil Stamps: R&D and Recycling Studies, 1998 Recycling Symposium Proceedings

The USPS sells billions of stamps every year to consumers, small businesses and bulk mailers; currently these stamps are predominately self-adhesive, on a liner (over 82%). For stamp users, these self-adhesive stamps on a liner have been easy and quick to use, and have offered consistent adhesion. For recyclers, however, these adhesive stamps have caused concern for their paper recycling processes. In addition, there is the issue of the stamp construction which consists of a liner which may not be recyclable (the USPS estimates there is 60-65 billion square inches of liner used in PSA stamps annually).

Under an R&D contract with the USPS, 3M has developed an “Environmentally Benign Linerless Self-Adhesive Coil Stamp”. This stamp construction is similar to a roll of tape in that it is coiled and has no liner. In addition, the adhesive was specifically formulated so that it would not interfere with the paper recycling process. This paper will offer information on the development of the linerless self-adhesive coil stamps, and the recycling studies performed during this development.