Can I Recycle Wrapping Paper?
Can I Recycle Wrapping Paper?
You CAN recycle wrapping paper if it is 100% paper. But if it is foil or metallic, if it’s really shiny, feels plastic-y or has glitter on it, then no, it’s not recyclable. The same rules go for boxes, gift bags and cards as well. Bows and ribbons are also not recyclable.
An easy test to tell if your wrapping paper is recyclable is the scrunch test. If you can scrunch the paper into a ball and it stays scrunched, then it is probably recyclable. If it won’t stay scrunched, you can’t recycle it.
What About Tissue Paper?
Most recycling programs that use single-stream or commingled recycling (this is the type of recycling where all your recyclables are mixed together in one bin) do not want tissue paper included. If you have a separate paper recycling program or drop-off, tissue paper might be alright to include, but check first.
Other Holiday Recycling Tips
- Did you know that you can recycle your holiday lights?
- Be sure to recycle all those cardboard shipping boxes, but remove any packing peanuts, flatten them down and get them into your recycling bin because recyclers don’t want wet cardboard.
- Take all your leftover plastic bags and film to a location that accepts them for recycling.
- Check with your local community to see if they will take Christmas trees for chipping and composting.
