We all look forward to Christmas and the presents under the tree that have had us salivating for some time.
Opening the presents is almost as fun as getting to the presents themselves – almost.
But with all of the gift opening comes a lot of paper. And while we keep the presents, the paper is disposed of. Surprisingly, though, it does not go in the recycle bin as city officials do not deem it high enough quality to recycle.
However, the holidays are a great opportunity to recycle more. Recycling helps preserve the longevity of landfills and gives a second life to items made from plastics, paper, cardboard and aluminum.
The City of Fort Worth makes it easy to recycle with curbside collection and four drop-off stations for larger items, donations and household hazardous waste.
Also, did you know bubble wrap is not advised to be set out for recycling by the city? It can, however, be recycled with your plastic bags at grocery stores.
Don’t recycle boxes that have packaging inside like Styrofoam, plastic bags, twist ties, etc. Empty the box and flatten all cardboard boxes.
It’s enough to keep up with who got what gifts for Christmas, not to mention dinner, sending out cards, etc. Cleaning up after shouldn’t add to the stress.
Here’s a guide to remind you what goes where:
Recycle in the blue cart. And remember, everything must be empty, clean and dry.
*Cardboard boxes (flattened).
*Metal or aluminum pie plates.
*Catalogs.
*Aluminum cans.
*Plastic containers.
*Popcorn tins.
Bag it for the brown garbage cart.
*Ornaments, ribbons and bows, colored tissue paper.
*All wrapping paper, including the metallic shiny kind.
*Padded mailing envelopes.
*Greeting cards with attached items, such as music players, glitter, metal and ribbons.
Place artificial Christmas trees out for monthly bulk collection.
Place live green or flocked Christmas trees out for weekly yard collection. Remove the stand and all decorations.