Waste Removal For After the Holiday

Rounding up your holiday cleanup? Knowing the right steps for waste removal can make your post- holiday cleaning a lot easier. That is why we have put together a handy guide for handling your holiday waste.

First, if you are relying on household waste removal, be prepared for delays. During the holidays, home waste increases about 25%. This can mean that normal trucks are unable to handle all of the waste or recycling on their normal routes. Why is that possible? Because Americans produce a lot of waste. That 25% increase results in about 1,000 extra pounds per household.

Whether you pay for garbage disposal services separately or not, recycling waste is very important for the environment. However, it can be challenging when you are dealing with holiday waste. For many households, the problem is not that recyclables end up in the trash, but that non-recyclables will end up in recycling. Depending on how your city handles waste disposal, getting non-recyclables in the wrong place can actually result in all of your recycling ending up in the waste.

Unfortunately, lots of the waste we get around the holiday cannot be recycled in your normal curbside recycling. While they may seem to be made of plastic or other recyclable materials, the following items are usually not accepted curbside:

  • Plastic Bags
  • Bows
  • Ribbon
  • Bubble Wrap
  • Batteries
  • Shoes
  • Clothing
  • Foam
  • Styrofoam
  • Holiday Lights
  • Electronics
  • Air Pillows
  • Laminated Holiday Wraps

On the other hand, some holiday items are usually recyclable. You may need to check with your local recycling company, but you can probably recycle

  • Paper Holiday Gift Wrap
  • Holiday Cards
  • Cardboard
  • Paper Bags

In addition to gifts, the holidays usually mean lots of food. If you are like many of us, you are going through your refrigerator to clear out the last of the holiday goodies and leftovers. How do you know whether or not you can recycle food containers? For all types of food containers, you need to ensure that they are clean and free from food residue. Residue not only prevent that item from being recycled but can contaminate other waste. While not all food containers are recyclable, most of them are. Before you toss them in the trash, consider recycling the following items:

  • Paper Bags
  • Metal Cans
  • Hard Plastic Containers (Milk Jugs, etc.)

While you may be tempted to try to recycle other types of plastic, keep in mind that the thin, flexible plastics that are often included in food wrapping can actually damage recycling machines. Keep them out of your recycling bins.