Just because they call it wrapping paper doesn’t mean it’s recyclable.
The city issued a reminder to residents on Friday that although the seasonal, decorative paper used to wrap gifts may appear to be recyclable, it should be placed with waste for curbside collection.
“Traditional Christmas wrap is not recyclable and that’s just due to it having an extremely high ink content,” said Jason Sherband, the city’s manager of solid waste and recycling services.
“We do know over the holiday season that certainly the amount of waste that’s out on the curb does increase and we do see it continue to be somewhat of an issue in residents making that honest mistake thinking that wrapping paper is recycling paper. We just want to remind them that it’s not and it needs to go out with your regular garbage collection.”
If blue bags contain a significant amount of wrapping paper, they will be tagged and left on the curb. Sherband advised the eco-friendly choice would explore alternatives.
“Try to maybe get a little creative around the holiday season in terms of wrapping gifts,” he said.
“If you’re using things like newsprint or recyclable materials, gift bags, tins, that type of things, just looking at alternatives, that way we’re not creating the waste in the first place.”
There will also be changes to waste and recycling collection over the weeks of Dec. 21 and Dec. 28. Because of Christmas and New Year’s days, waste collection will be moved up a day. Sherband suggested residents consult pickup schedules for details.
