The dos and don’ts of holiday recycling

The time has almost come for children to tear through wrapping paper or for grandma to carefully peel off the tape from presents in order to reuse everything.

As Christmas arrives, so do piles of leftover decor and gift wrap, items that often bring confusion when looking at the recycling bin. Luckily, Waste Management of Iowa has provided some holiday recycling guidelines for Creston residents to encourage a sustainable holiday season.

“We are committed to helping Creston have a successful and sustainable holiday season. We encourage all residents to follow the specific guidelines for items like ribbons, bows and tissue paper, choosing to reuse or donate whenever possible. This community effort ensures we can efficiently manage materials and support a strong circular economy,” WM Recycling Operations Director Matt McGurn said.

Many popular holiday items have specific guidelines for reuse, recycling or proper disposal. Here are key tips on how to manage these holiday items:

- Wrapping paper: Plain wrapping paper is recyclable. However, wrapping paper with foil, glitter or a plastic/laminated coating is not recyclable and should be saved for reuse if possible.

- Tip: Consider using newspaper, old wallpaper, fabric or baskets instead of traditional wrapping paper or carefully reuse wrapping paper after opening gifts.

- Holiday bags: Treat holiday bags like wrapping paper. Plain paper bags are recyclable, but those that are glossy, laminated or decked out in glitter are not recyclable.

- Tip: Reuse is the best option for holiday bags.

- Ribbons and bows: These items are not recyclable and should either be reused or donated.

- Tissue Paper: Tissue paper is not recyclable.

- Tip: Reuse tissue paper for the next holiday season or for gifts like birthdays and anniversaries.

- Holiday Lights: Do not recycle holiday lights in your curbside bin.

WM encourages the community to focus on reuse as the best option for non-recyclable items like ribbons, bows and tissue paper to further drive sustainability efforts.

Due to Christmas and New Year’s, some trash and recycling pickup for the next two weeks will be pushed back. Those with a Thursday trash pickup day will be pushed to Friday, while all recycling will be pushed to Saturday. WM service will return to normal Monday, Jan, 5.