Recycling After the Holidays
Abstract:
After the holidays, houses are littered with piles of crumpled wrapping paper and bows, dozens of holiday cards, pine needles on the carpet, and boxes of pesky foam packaging "peanuts."
The UPS Store® offers the following recycling tips to simplify post-holiday cleanup so you can start the new year with a clean house (and a clean conscience):
- Recycle packaging peanuts. Participating The UPS Store locations accept clean foam packaging peanuts of all sizes, shapes, and colors for reuse. For additional information on peanut recycling consumers can visit www.loosefillpackaging.com.
- Reuse wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, tissue paper, etc. Also, save gift bags and boxes and reuse them throughout the year. Those you can't reuse, recycle.
- Recycle greeting cards. Save cards and cut them up to use as gift tags next year. They also make a great resource for children's art projects, or you can research organizations in your area that could utilize your used greeting card collection.
- Recycle your tree. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are approximately 25-30 million real Christmas trees sold in North America each year. After the holidays, put your tree to good use – chip it to use as mulch around shrubs and flowerbeds or, if you have a live tree, plant it in the yard or donate it to a local school or nursing home to plant on their grounds. You can also check local resources for instructions on recycling options, drop-off locations or pickup dates.
- Donate old toys, clothes or unwanted gifts. Start the new year with a clean slate. Take this time each year to donate to local charities any unwanted gifts along with last year's toys, clothes, or electronics that are still in good shape.
