The holiday season can bring an abundance of excess packaging. Remember, if it’s made out of plastic, glass, paper, cardboard or metal it can probably go in your blue box. Here is a list of common holiday products and what you should do with them:
Bows: Reuse if possible, if not, trash.
Blister packaging: Hard-to-open containers around consumer products you usually need scissors to open, recycle.
Bubble wrap: Recycle with plastic bags at Sobeys, Safeway, Walmart, Superstore or London Drugs.
Cardboard: Flatten and then recycle.
Catalogs, envelopes and flyers: Recycle.
Christmas trees and wreaths, real: Remove everything from the tree, including the stand and metal frame from wreath, and contact your city or town for drop-off locations.
Christmas trees and wreaths, artificial: Reuse or donate.
Electronics – Recycle your old electronics through the EPRA program. Visit www.recyclemanitoba.ca for a list of drop-off locations.
Foam packing peanuts: Reuse. Contact local second hand stores or offer them online for someone to use when moving, otherwise, trash.
Fruit: Food scraps belong in your compost bin. If you don’t compost, toss the rest in the trash.
Gift bags, mesh, cellophane: Reuse, or trash.
Gift bags, cloth: Reuse or donate to a second hand store.
Gift bags, paper: Recycle.
Gift boxes, cardboard: Reuse, or flatten and recycle.
Gift tags, cardboard: Recycle.
Gift tags, stickers: Trash.
Greeting cards: Recycle.
Pie plate, foil: Trash.
Ribbon: Reuse if possible. If not, trash.
String lights: Recycle through Product Care program. Visit www.recyclemanitoba.ca for drop-off locations.
Styrofoam packaging: Trash.
Tinsel: Trash.
Tissue wrapping paper: Recycle.
Wrapping material, Mylar or cellophane: Reuse if possible otherwise, trash.
Wrapping paper: If the paper came from a tree, recycle.
Wrapping paper, foil lined: Trash, not recyclable.
By making a few simple changes to your holiday festivities, you can reduce the amount of waste your family produces this year. It’s easier than you imagine and won’t require you to spend a lot of money. So, whatever is on your agenda for this holiday season, always think of ways to reduce your carbon footprint.