Many families enjoy decorating for Christmas. This includes both indoor and outdoor decorations. After Christmas, families begin storing their Christmas decorations. What can you do with items that cannot be re-used? It might be possible to recycle them!
Real Christmas trees can be recycled. The first thing to do is call your local recycling center, or your local waste management authority. Ask if they will recycle Christmas trees before bringing your tree to the facility. Your local zoo may be collecting recycled Christmas trees to be used as treats for their animals.
Before you go – be sure to remove all items from the tree so it looks the way it did when you purchased or cut it. Cut trees in half if they are too long. Don’t leave ornaments, tinsel, or any other decorations on the tree. Be sure to remove it from the tree stand. You may be asked to cut trees in half if they are too long.
What about wrapping paper? According to Treehugger, wrapping paper can usually be recycled if it is plain and simple, non-laminated, made from recycled materials, and is not too thin.
Wrapping paper cannot be recycled if it contains sparkles, glitter, sequins, foil, artificial texture, sticky gift labels, or plastic. According to Treehugger, wrapping paper that has been laminated or has loads of leftover tape, ribbons, or bows still attached also cannot be recycled.
Christmas lights can sometimes be recycled. Christmas Light Source has a Christmas Lights Recycling Program. They do this every year, and save all recycling proceeds for this year’s Toys for Tots donations.
There are four steps to follow:
Step 1: Box up your old, broken Christmas lights into the smallest box that will accommodate the lights and send them to Christmas Light Source in the cheapest and slowest way.
Step 2: Please include your name and email address (mandatory if you want the discount code – Christmas Light Source won’t save it or sell it) and you will be emailed a code that will be good for 10% off a single order of Christmas lights.
Step 3: Christmas Lights Source will take the lights, have them recycled, and take the proceeds from the recycling to buy books, educational games, puzzles and toys.
Step 4: Those items will be donated to the DFW Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.
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