One of the busiest times of the year for rubbish disposing companies is, undoubtedly, the holiday season. Everything from leftovers to Christmas wrapping, to bad presents (kidding!) makes its way into the bin once the holiday season is over, and that can be quite an overload of rubbish.
So in this article, our team at Rubbish Disposal set out to show you the dos and don’ts of disposing of your Christmas rubbish the right way. We take into account various laws and regulations, as well as the best, climate-friendly ways of disposing of your rubbish this holiday season.
Present wrapping
Let’s be fair, there’s a lot of Christmas wrapping being used over the holiday period. From gifts to family members, to the ever-present pile underneath the tree, chances are you’ll be disposing of quite a bit of wrapping paper and related material this holiday season.
So what can you recycle, and what can you not? Well, traditional paper wrapping can be recycled without posing much trouble, but aluminium foil or other shiny wrapping materials may not qualify.
If you’re unsure whether your wrapping paper can be recycled, just scrunch it up – if it stays in a ball, then it can safely be recycled.
Note: Unfortunately bows, ribbons, and other similar wrapping materials are non-recyclable, and labelled as general waste.
Christmas leftovers
Most of the food you’re not eating can and should go in the general food waste bin, without much trouble. Bear in mind, however, that this does not include bones, or other animal carcasses, as these may present the rubbish disposal team with some unnecessary trouble when removing the rubbish.
Similarly, you’ll want to make sure you don’t accidentally put in wrapping material, such as cling film or aluminium foil in with the food waste, as these can make the rubbish disposal team’s job trickier, as well.
Christmas cards
Christmas is a great season for getting in touch with friends and old acquaintances, even if it’s by way of a few lines inside a Christmas card. But what should you do once the holidays are over, and you’re hard-pressed for space?
Well, for Christmas cards and their related envelopes, we use the same rule as we do for Christmas gift wrapping paper – if it’s glittery or glossy (either in part, or entirely), you won’t be able to recycle it, and so should dispose of these cards and envelopes in the general waste bin.
If it’s the regular paper we’re talking about here, then recycle away!
Christmas trees
Unfortunately, there are no special rules for Christmas trees left out on the curb. So if you want to recycle your Christmas tree, you can either chop it up into bits, or take it to your nearest tree disposal centre (which you can find online). If you have a garden waste collection service then this is also another acceptable way to dispose of your Christmas tree.
Food wrapping
Christmas is also the time for a lot of leftovers that need wrapping. Thankfully, all those clear plastic food containers can be easily recycled. Single-use cups, however, can not, neither can black plastic.
