It can be a challenge to figure out what to do with holiday decorations and gift wrap after the holidays, so to make it easy, Allied Waste has provided a list of which items are acceptable in the recycling bin.
The following items are “Nice” (recyclable): gift boxes, tissue paper, shoe boxes, Christmas tree, paper holiday cards/envelopes, and gift bags (paper).
These items are “Naughty” (not recyclable): Bubble wrap, foil or coated wrapping paper, ribbon and bows, anything on the tree (decorations, tinsel), sticky gift labels, gift bags if coated, laminated or dyed, and foam peanuts
According to Anne Laughlin, Community Relations Manager for Allied Waste, most wrapping paper is not recyclable due to to the additives that are placed upon it. Laughlin also encourages people to “wrap packages creatively, using reusable fabric or wrapping a gift within a gift.”
Christmas trees must be stripped of all decorations before the tree can be mulched or composted. Trees can go in a yard waste container or they can be bundled with twine next to the container, provided that they are cut down to 4-foot long pieces that are smaller than 4 inches in diameter. Bundles should not weigh more than 60 pounds.
Instead of a bow on top of packages, try of using an ornament or other decoration that can be reused next year, the company said, adding that reusing ribbon and greeting cards people receive this season along with recycling paperboard and paper envelopes for gift tags helps too.