We all feel it at some point and to some degree. As we anticipate the holiday season and see the extra waste that we all have during the holidays, please rest assured that there are a few easy things to do that we can embrace easily that will help us reduce waste in our homes during the holiday season.

Wrapping paper is a good place to start. First, please realize that there are thousands of miles of wrapping paper that gets used in the United States during this time of the year. Of which, none is recyclable. Unbelievably, wrapping paper for the most part is made up of ash and clay and with very little paper. It all goes into the landfill. There are alternatives such as using magazines, old paper maps or even kraft paper instead which are recyclable. We can still reuse wrapping paper or tissue paper for our next holiday. If you want to get really creative, try using pillowcases, drawstring pouches or some other type of fabric and reuse them too.

Speaking of reuse (remember the mantra, reduce, reuse and then recycle?), how about instead of throwing away ribbons, bows or gift bags that have foil or other sparkly stuff on them, we keep them and reuse them again and again? These items are also not wanted in recycling and often spend more time being caught up in the recycling equipment than anything. We can still throw them away but going for a more green Christmas includes reusing as many things as we can!

Let’s take a moment to talk about Christmas cards-did you know that approximately a billion Christmas cards are sent and disposed of during the Christmas holiday? Approximately half of these cards are actually recycled because most have too many sparkly decorations on the outside or even may contain a battery so that the card may play music or a message. Christmas cards can be reused by cutting off the pretty front of the card and reusing them for next year’s tags on presents. The back part of the card usually does not have much if anything for decoration and can be recycled. And cards with batteries? These pose a significant fire risk in recycling or even the trash as often these cards have batteries, which can start on fire if the battery is broken open.

Christmas trees and other decorations are important to many of our celebrations. For those who are using artificial Christmas trees or other decorations, these items if broken, are trash only. They are never recyclable. If you no longer want an artificial tree or other holiday decorations, please remember to pass them along to places like thrift stores or Habitat for Humanity. Please note Goodwill in Marshall will only accept artificial Christmas trees through Dec. 25 but will continue to accept other holiday decorations after that date.

Artificial Christmas trees, which are made from plastic, are absolutely not allowed into recycling. The only plastic items that can go into any of our recycling are containers that had food in them such as spaghetti jars or peanut butter. No other plastic items are accepted in recycling. Again, recycling is all about paper (no shred or books), flattened cardboard and clean, empty food containers. Since broken artificial trees can fill up your trash cart, please consult with your trash service for disposal otherwise residents can self-haul to the landfill for a fee.

Real Christmas tree disposal happens after all decorations have been removed and then they should be taken to your local leaf and branch compost site. They absolutely do not go into your trash cart or recycling cart. Other natural decorations, once we are done with them such as wreaths, garland and so forth also need to have all of the decorations removed and any wire, then taken to your local leaf and branch compost site. These, too, are not allowed in trash carts or recycling cart.

Keep an eye out for our “Holiday Guide for Less Waste” coming to your mailbox very soon as well as the 2025 Curbside Recycling Calendar postcard! For more information, please call the Lyon County Environmental Department at (507) 532-8210.