Cleaning up after Kris Kringle: Holiday recycling dos and don'ts

Many people will be starting off the new year with a post-Christmas cleanup now that 2017 is in the rearview mirror.

This past holiday season wasthe firstsince the City of Calgary rolled out the green carts as part of thecomposting programand Calgarians might be a little confused with how to use the new bin to dispose of theirfestive refuse.

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Philippa Wagner, a program management leader with the city's waste andrecycling services, toldthe Calgary Eyeopenerexactlywhat Calgarianscan recycle, what holiday scraps they cancompostand what they shouldtoss in the trash.

Food waste and leftovers

Wagner said some people are stillgetting used to the fact that any andall foods waste can go into the green carts.

"So whether it's that turkey carcass meats or fats or bones, anything like that can go in your green cart for composting," Wagner said.

Around320,000 green carts were delivered tosingle-family homes last year and the city has online resources available to let you know exactly what can be composted, recycled or thrown away.

Christmas trees

Just like grass clippings and organic yard waste, Wagner says your real Christmas tree can also go in the green bin.

Cut up your Christmas tree into smallerpieces so that it fits in your green cart, Wagner says. If your green cart gets too full, she says you can bundle the branches together and stack them next to your green binbeside your cart orput them inacompostablepaper yard work bag.

"There is also the option to take it into a depot," Wagner said. "We have16 set up across the cityso you can take your entire tree into one of those depots and it will be composted there."

Wrapping paper

As for what can berecycled, Wagner says most wrapping products can go in your blue bin as long as they aren't coated in foil or aor metallic coating.

"If it's just paper wrapping paper, yes, that can go in," she said, adding thatyou must remove any parts of boxes or bags that aren't made of paper, includingfabric handles and ribbons.

Do your best to remove any large pieces of tape attached to paper materials,"but a little bit of tape is just fine," Wagner said. Bubble wrap and inflatable packing pockets can also be recycled.

"We just ask that you put [bubble wrap]inside a plastic bag and tie the handle shut so it's all bundled up together," she said.

If you're not sure if something should berecycled or thrown away, Wagner says to check the item for a recycling symbol accompanied by a number for confirmation.

"So if they do have therecyclingsymbol and anumberfrom 1 to 7 then yes, they can," she said."If they don't have that number of them they do need to go in the garbage."

What to throw away

One exception to the above rule is products made from polystyrene foam, often called Styrofoam.

The lightweightmaterial is used in packaging and construction and cannot berecycled in Calgary, despite having recycling symbols on them.

"If you do have [polystyrene]even if it does have that recycling symbol on it, it is not accepted in our program and that would need to go in the black cart for garbage," Wagner said.

Polystyrene products include shipping materials like foam blocks and peanuts, foam coffee cups,take-out container and meat trays.

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With files from the Calgary Eyeopener