As the festive season fills homes with gifts, decorations, and celebrations, it’s easy to overlook the environmental impact of Christmas waste. At this time of year over 30% more waste is generated. At Coastal Recycling, we’re here to help you navigate sustainable disposal options and make eco-friendly choices. Here’s a practical guide for recycling holiday waste, plus tips for making greener choices this Christmas.
Recyclable Items
To keep recyclable items out of the landfill, a good place to start is your wrapping paper. Avoid purchasing foil and glitter gift wrap, which is often non-recyclable; instead, check if the paper can hold its shape when crumpled, as this is a good indicator it’s recyclable.
Online shopping and gifting can create a lot of cardboard waste — flatten these boxes to save space and place them in your recycling bin for collection. Christmas parties also produce recyclable glass bottles, cans and plastic packaging, which can be easily processed if rinsed beforehand to remove residue. If you’re unsure about whether packaging can be recycled, be sure to check the product for recycling symbols and instructions. Some packaging, such as clingfilm, cannot be recycled, while plastic trays or tins can be reused as well as recycled.
Most Christmas cards are recyclable, however, if there’s glitter or gloss, the card will need to go in the general waste bin.
Non-Recyclable Items
Some festive items, however, don’t belong in recycling bins. For example, foil-lined wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows are non-recyclable and should be discarded with household waste. The same can be said for a lot of household decorative items, such as baubles and tinsel.
Faulty string lights, electronics and batteries require specific disposal methods, such as designated e-waste drop-off points or collections rather than ending up in the bin.
Recycling Tips
There are several ways to reduce your holiday footprint with eco-friendly alternatives. One of the easiest is to reuse any gift bags, boxes, and ribbons from previous years to cut down on waste.
Be sure to consider alternatives to traditional wrapping paper, such as brown paper, newspaper or even fabric, which the recipient can both recycle or reuse.
In the UK, around 270,000 tons of edible food is thrown away around the Christmas period. A great way to minimise food waste is to create additional meals from any leftovers for freezing, donate food to local shelters or use the scraps for composting.
Local Drop-off and Donation Options
In addition to curbside recycling, take advantage of drop-off points for items that don’t belong in standard bins, like batteries, e-waste, and bulky waste. Some high street shops, such as Cancer Research, contain drop-off points for flat batteries so they can be recharged and redistributed.
For toys, clothing, unwanted gifts and gently used household items, consider donating instead of discarding. Not only does this keep items out of landfills, but it also supports those in need during the holiday season.
Try Coastal Recycling
To further support your holiday recycling efforts well into the New Year, Coastal Recycling offers responsible waste management services to help you recycle your rubbish in the most efficient way. Get in touch with us to find out how we can increase your recycling rates and reduce your waste disposal costs.
At this time of year over 30% more waste is generated.