Disposing of Shaimos which Were Not Used
The halachah is that Shaimos, papers with Hashem’s holy name or words of Torah written or printed on them, have to be buried in a genizah, a special plot reserved for the burial of worn-out sefarim, holy books, and other such items. There are however, several categories: If the papers are printed photo-copies, have never been read, and do not contain Hashem’s Name spelled out in any language, some poskim are lenient and allow us to dispose of them in the garbage—provided they have first been properly wrapped. Many poskim disagree with this leniency, and yet others differentiate between papers containing words from Torah Shebiksav, the Written Torah, and Torah Shebe’al Peh, the Oral Torah: according to them, material from Torah Shebiksav, even without Hashem’s Name, and even if they have never been read, must be buried; however, they say that if material is from Torah Shebe’al Peh, if Hashem’s Name is not spelled out, and if they were never read—then there is room for leniency and we may dispose of them in a respectful manner, as described above.