The Christmas season is almost here, and everyone is dealing with lots of wrapping paper, shipping boxes, and other kinds of wrapping items like bows and tinsel. It can be confusing to know which of these items can be recycled, and you might be feeling worried that you will send the wrong items out to be recycled after Christmas is over.
Thankfully, it is actually really enough to know which of your Christmas items can be sent to be recycled. You will find that you have probably been overthinking the process. GEL can help you recycle after the holidays so that you don’t have to throw out a lot of wrapping paper and boxes that could have been recycled.
What Items Can be Recycled After Christmas?
1. Christmas Wrapping Paper is Recyclable
While it might seem like a lot of wrapping paper is not recyclable, this is not actually the case. Even shiny and metallic wrapping paper can be recycled with ease. It can be easy to mistake the metallic shine of these papers as having something to do with metal or metal-based products, but this is not the case.
As a rule of thumb, if you can bend the paper and fold it and if it behaves just like paper, it can go into the recycle bin. If the wrapping items that you are dealing with don’t behave like paper, it will be best to throw them away. Metal foil-type papers will have to be thrown away because these are not paper-based products.
Always remember that you can reuse wrapping paper that is not too torn up, so you might want to think about handling your unwrapping with care to prevent waste.
2. This Christmas, Recycle Your Electronic Waste
There can be lots of electronics that need to be replaced during the holidays. If you got a new Xbox or TV, what do you do with the old item? You will find that most electronics are not eligible to be recycled, but there are often locations that will let you drop off these specific kinds of items to be disposed of or recycled correctly. You will need to avoid putting these kinds of items into the recycling bin and instead explore options for drop-off disposal for them.
3. Batteries Can Be Recycled After Christmas
When kids get toys, they almost always need batteries. This means that there are always a lot of batteries that get thrown out during the Christmas rush. Batteries cannot go into regular recycling and need to be disposed of at a specific hazardous waste location. You will find that there is probably a drop-off in your local area where you can take batteries to.
4. Recycle Christmas Food Waste
What about the boxes from the cake that you bought or the doughnut box from breakfast on Christmas Eve day? The rule for these kinds of waste is the same as for pizza boxes. If the box is not soaked in grease, then it can be recycled. If the box is greasy, then it needs to go into the trash.
Make sure that food waste is donated rather than thrown out. You might have a drop-off close to you that collects food to give to the homeless or to those in need. If you have a turkey, a pie, and some other food that you did not eat at your party, please don’t throw them out! You might be able to help a family in need.
5. Recycle Christmas Decorations and Bows
Most bows and packaging decorations are not recyclable. These items are almost always made with wire and other components that are not acceptable for recycling. Bows and other ribbons products can be reused next year, but they cannot be recycled either. Be sure that you think about this fact when you are wrapping. It might be less wasteful to choose a different wrapping style so that you do not create garbage that cannot be recycled. While pretty bows and decorations make packages pretty, they are fairly wasteful when it comes to recycling.
6. After Christmas, Wrapping Boxes Can Be Recycled
What about those wrapping boxes? These boxes, along with the tissue paper inside of them, are usually not recyclable as well. It is less wasteful to just use the box that something was shipped in for packaging, or you can also store up some regular cardboard boxes over the year to be used at Christmas time. The mailing boxes that are used by companies are always recyclable. These are also usually nicer quality boxes, so you will have a better wrapping experience with them anyway.
You can sometimes find wrapping boxes that are specifically made to be recycled, so committing to this level of care can also be the right solution for your needs. Many people are not aware that these boxes are not recyclable and throw many of them into the recycling bin each Christmas. These then have to be sorted out of the recycling, which wastes time and might also make a whole load of recycling have to be rejected.
Recycling After Christmas Doesn’t Have to be Stressful If You Are in Central Florida
If you have been in a panic about recycling after Christmas, don’t be! These guidelines will help you to know what you can put in the bin to be recycled and what to avoid using for your Christmas preparations and wrapping needs. You can prevent waste in a variety of ways, and you will probably also be saving yourself money overall.
The Christmas season is a very busy one for GEL, so we appreciate it when our customers take the time to sort their recycling properly and avoid materials that cannot be recycled. The better you plan for your Christmas wrapping projects, the more likely it will be that you can just put all of the leftover paper and boxes into the recycling bin. We take pride in keeping up with everyone’s recycling needs during the Christmas season, and you can help us take care of everyone by making these adjustments to your Christmas wrapping and supplies.