How to Recycle Christmas Accessories

When Christmas comes and goes, people are mostly left with dried up pine needles, dimmed lights, small heaps of wrapping papers and holiday cards too fast. Do you ever wonder what to do with all the treasured Christmas décor now that it has become obsolete? Well, you can reuse and recycle it of course. Here are some ideas on how you can recycle Christmas trees, Christmas cards and wrapping papers.

Make Recycling a Habit-Recycle the Christmas Décor 

After Christmas many people and households will throw away a lot of rubbish that is from Christmas. At this time of the year, it is estimated that tonnes of card and wrapping papers are used and later they are sent to landfill. This is a lot of waste and it is recommended that in case you over-indulge yourself over Christmas, you should practice something that will reduce the amount of waste in your house.

Best way to Recycle Christmas Trees 

Almost every household puts up a Christmas tree, but do you ever wonder where they all go after Christmas? A large percentage of these Christmas trees end up being thrown in the landfill. Due to the materials used to make them, it might take a number of years to decompose which will end up releasing methane which has worse effects because it has more power than carbon dioxide. There is one simple way you can use to prevent this; recycle. In case you would not like to shredder, you can check whether your local council might be running a recycling scheme that takes those trees and converts them into wood chips. As for the compost, they can use it on gardens and parks which is a creative use. You can research more about the recycling schemes that offer their services around your area or simply try out the charity Just Helping, which is a foundation that collects trees for charities. Since you cannot recycle artificial trees, you can voluntarily give them to voluntary organisations or charity shops since they accept them.

What to do about the Wrapping Paper 

Disposing off wrapping paper might be an environmental risk. It is important for you to check whether the local council in your area accepts discarded wrapping paper in order to recycle before you put it in the paper bin. This is because some of the local councils do not accept them. It is known that any paper than is very thin with just a few fibres, has glitter or is laminated cannot be recycled. You can check whether your paper is suitable for recycling by using the ‘scrunch test’. All you have to do is scrunch he paper into a ball, and in case it holds the shape, it is definitely recyclable but if it springs back, it cannot be recycled. Before you start recycling the wrapping papers, remember to take off any plastic bows or sticky tape. There is also another option which is reusing the wrapping paper. If you are industrious, you can turn all the wrapping paper into ‘confetti’ and get to use it for other parties or for backing your children’s school books.

Why not re-gift 

During Christmas people receive so many gifts and at times, you never want it all. Before you think of disposing all the presents you don’t want, you can think of re-gifting them to someone who might want them more. For example, instead of just throwing it all in the bin, you can look for a charity that may be helps less-fortunate families or homeless people and donate to them. Alternatively, you can look for a charity shop so that they can use them as raffle prizes. Another option is Freegle Network, and it one of the best places where you can offer all the gifts you do not want to keep. Maybe you think that gift is not worth anything, but someone somewhere might be in need of it. As for the Christmas cards, you can put them in the paper recycling bin but before that you should remove any batteries and embellishments. If you would like, you can also turn them into gift tags or calendars.

In conclusion, instead of throwing all the Christmas décor, find a good way of recycling it or re-using it.