5 Recycling Tips to Help Keep Our Planet Healthy Over the Holidays
“We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to.” – Terry Swearingen
After the holidays it's tempting to just clear out all the wrapping paper and drinks bottles and get your house back to normal with as little hassle as possible - by chucking it in the bin where it's out of sight, out of mind.
Did you know that in the UK we throw away 227,000 miles of wrapping paper and one billion Christmas cards each year? Increasing the amount of waste in our landfills increases harmful chemicals and greenhouse gases into the air that we breathe. Keeping our planet healthy is an act of self-care.
Not everything can be recycled, but it's worth taking the time to learn what can be recycled, what can be reused, and what goes where. Here are our top 5 tips for recycling over the holidays:
Learn the color coding for bins in your area to know what goes where, compact your rubbish (i.e. break down cardboard boxes and compress plastic bottles), and maintain separate bins at home to keep it easy all year long.
When it comes to wrapping paper, if you can scrunch it and it stays scrunched then you can recycle it (as long it doesn't have any glitter or foil). Remove the tape and bows first.
The cardboard tubes from your wrapper paper can be recycled along with all other cardboard.
Tissue paper and gift bags usually can't be recycled, but they can be reused!
Next year, go for upcycled gifts, plain brown paper and string for wrapping.
Remember: recycling is constantly evolving and changing, so it's worth checking online for updates regularly.
