BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – When the unwrapping is over but the wrapping is all over your house, it can be hard to clean up with sustainability in mind.
Holiday gifts can leave us with leftovers like bubble wrap and sparkly wrapping paper that can be confusing to sort. According to the EPA, household garbage can increase by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s in the US.
Placing waste in the wrong bin at a sorting center puts extra strain on staff.
Chittenden Solid Waste District says the days after Christmas are some of their busiest and it’s impossible to check that every bag is sorted correctly.
“Around the holidays we get so much material in, or even on our busiest days, that we just can’t sort through every little bit of contamination,” said Gabriella Stevens of CSWD.
Stevens says fully plastic or paper mail slips are recyclable, but mixed material ones must be trashed.
Wrapping paper that shines or sparkles goes in the trash too, along with any plastic tape. So do paper plates, cups, and utensils.
Old Christmas lights should go in a scrap metal bin at your waste center – not your home recycling.
To decrease your waste this season, think about saving salvageable wrapping paper for next year or opting to eat and drink with reusable tableware.