The holiday season can produce a lot of waste. Some of it is recyclable and some is not. Follow these tips to ensure that what you put in the recycling bins can actually be recycled.
If it can’t be recycled, consider alternatives that will help reduce what ends up in the landfill.
DON’T recycle wrapping paper or tissue paper! Wrapping paper has very little actual paper content and the coatings make it impossible to recycle. Even paper that says it is recyclable should not be recycled because recycling managers cannot easily distinguish between recyclable and non-recyclable papers. If a load of paper ends up with too much wrapping paper in it, the entire load will be rejected and will end up in the landfill. Some alternatives to wrapping paper are plain brown Kraft paper, newsprint, or re-usable gift bags.
DON’T recycle bubble wrap and styrofoam packing materials.
DO recycle strands of lights. There is a drop off box at the 24-hour Freeport Recycling facility.
DO recycle artificial Christmas trees. Bring them to the Freeport Recycling facility during business hours (6:00 am to 3:00 pm on weekdays).
DON’T put corrugated cardboard in the trash. Recycle it.
DO recycle only #1 and #2 plastics.