Cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, and bows all tend to pile up this time of year.
The Wisconsin DNR wants to make sure as much of it as possible avoids the landfill.
Flattened cardboard boxes, plastic #1 and #2 containers, aluminum cans, and glass bottles are all fine to be recycled.
“Remember a recycling symbol doesn't necessarily mean an item is accepted. Check what you can recycle at home and at your holiday destination. It may be different,” said Jennifer Semaru, DNR waste reduction and diversion coordinator.
There are some things that can’t be recycled, but there could still be options other than the landfill.
- Holiday light strings, cords and other "tanglers.” At modern recycling facilities, these wrap around equipment, meaning a facility has to be shut down for workers to cut the material loose. Some retailers, electronics recyclers and communities offer seasonal recycling programs for light strings. If that's not an option, put broken lights in the trash.
- Plastic bags, plastic film and wrap. These also get tangled in recycling equipment. In addition, bagged recyclables cause problems because workers can't be sure what's inside, meaning recyclables in bags will likely end up in the trash. If you collect cans, bottles and other recyclables in a bag to reduce mess, empty the bag into your bin or cart and then put the bag in the trash. You can take many types of clean, dry plastic bags and wrap to store drop-off locations. Learn more about reducing, reusing and recycling plastic bags and wrap on the DNR's Recycling Plastic Bags webpage.
- Batteries and electronics. Recycling facilities that manage cans, bottles and cardboard and waste facilities that manage household garbage aren't set up to handle batteries and electronics. Rechargeable batteries can cause fires in collection trucks and facilities if they are damaged by equipment, and many electronics contain hazardous materials. Find more on how to recycle batteries and electronics, including drop-off site locations, on the DNR's Electronics Recycling webpage.
- Tissue paper. While not a hazard, the fibers in this type of paper are too short to be recycled and reused again.
- Photo cards and cards that play music, light up or have glitter or ribbons. These cards may contain batteries, which are a fire risk, or nonrecyclable material that contaminates other paper.
Some programs accept wrapping paper. If they do, it needs to be plain paper, no glitter, foil, or ribbons.
“A common reason that programs will say no wrapping paper at all is because people tend to include all of the bows and the ribbons with their wrapping paper, and these are not recyclable, or they'll take their wrapping paper and make it into a ball, as I mentioned previously, paper needs to be flat in order to be sorted properly,” said Semaru.
Semaru encourages people to reuse things like gift bags.
For more information about what can and can't be recycled, visit the DNR's What to Recycle in Wisconsin webpage.
Avoiding food waste
The organization ReFED estimates that on Thanksgiving alone, 316 million pounds of food is wasted in the United States. This represents more than $556 million of groceries thrown away in a single day.
In addition to wasting money, uneaten food is also bad for the environment.
When wasted food decomposes in landfills, it will release nearly 5,000 metric tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
“I also want to point out, when food gets wasted or thrown away, all the resources like the land, water, energy, fertilizer, fuel and labor that went into reducing it and getting it to your table gets wasted too,” said Ruth O’Donnell, DNR Organics Waste Management Specialist.
O’Donnell encourages people to takes some steps to reduce food waste.
Things like shopping with a plan, storing food properly to extend its life, and freezing food before it’s too late can help.
“You may even consider composting extra food scraps. Composting is another form of recycling, because the organic materials are broken down. And here the compost microbes live in the presence of air, and these microbes don't produce methane gas, plus you end up creating a great soil builder,” said O’Donnell.
For more details and additional tips, visit the DNR's Reducing Food Waste at Home webpage.
