Southern Debindery was founded more than 30 years ago when a contract was accepted with publishers of Time-Life books to de-bind and prepare for recycling their defective and excess volumes. The company quickly attracted additional business and grew exponentially.

Southern Debindery now manages its own fleet of trucks and drivers as well as working with independent haulers to keep a steady flow of material moving through its facility. If a customer calls early in the day, there’s a possibility of same-day pick-up, and very few customers will have to wait more than 24 hours.

Books, spiral-bound reports and directories heading into Southern Debindery’s facility are hogged, with material then heading through a shredder and a cyclone fan system for cleaning before it is baled.

Southern Debindery produces several grades of paper, many of them being mixed grades that bundle soft and hard cover material together with the paper that made up the inside pages. After material has been processed and sent to a pulping mill, Southern Debindery provides a certified letter of destruction. For a fee, publishers can also observe the destruction process as it takes place at the Lebanon facility.