Ah, the holidays. All the presents that arrived on our doorsteps in cardboard boxes, beautiful wrapping paper and ribbons, fresh greenery and decorative lights. While a wonderful time of the year, the season can also be the most wasteful — with paper, plastic packaging and decorations adding tons to landfills from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.
How will you handle your own holiday cleanup? Before putting items out with the trash, consider whether your holiday accoutrements are reusable — for you or someone else — or recycable.
Next year’s treasures
Who remembers Grandma picking up and carefully folding wrapping paper after all the presents were opened? Wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbon and bows can be tucked away to use again next year. Cardboard shipping boxes are great for storing ornaments, holiday lights and décor. You can also break down boxes to store, because who knows when one will come in handy?
Speaking of handy, plenty of crafters turn holiday greeting cards into cool new items including tiny paper trees, ornaments, wreaths, magnets and coasters. Just run an online search for this topic and sharpen your scissors. You can also check with local creative reuse stores to see if they are interested not only in cards but also ribbon, paper, ornaments or holiday art supplies you are ready to retire.
Not crafty? These stationery items are accepted for recycling throughout Hampton Roads: cardboard boxes (broken down); greeting cards and envelopes without coating, glitter or foil; gift boxes and paper gift bags; and non-coated wrapping paper.
And please note that tissue paper and plastic padding for boxes are not recyclable. If you can’t reuse these, put them in the trash. Plastic gift cards are not recyclable either.
Holiday string lights
We are convinced that replacing burned-out bulbs on strands of lights is not humanly possible. Sometimes it seems easier to just chuck the lights in the trash. Instead, you can mail or ship them off for free recycling. In return, you will receive a coupon good for the purchase of new lights. You can find out more about recycling and rebate programs from these two sources: HolidayLEDs.com and tinyurl.com/LightRecycle. And when you are buying new, remember that LED lights are more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs, produce zero toxic elements and last longer.
Natural Christmas trees and greenery
And while it may feel sad to remove the tree at the end of the holiday, it is good to know that natural Christmas trees have more than one life when recycled. Some Hampton Roads localities collect and chip the trees into mulch or compost that is used to beautify public spaces.
Check the askHRgreen.org Christmas tree disposal guide, tinyurl.com/disposaltree, for details on your community’s seasonal collection program and instructions. (Trees should be free of ornaments, lights, tinsel and stands, of course.)
But perhaps a nicer option is to enjoy your tree a little longer by placing it in a quiet corner of your yard. There you can keep an eye on the wintering birds and woodland creatures that use it for shelter. You can also cut and drape branches to protect garden beds or shred pine needles to scatter on garden pathways and trails. That is a thoughtful send-off to the season, with zero waste.
Katie Cullipher and Rebekah Eastep are team leaders of the askHRgreen.org public awareness and education campaign for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. For more ways to make an environmental difference in Hampton Roads, visit askHRgreen.org
