City Offers Tips to Reuse, Reduce and Recycle this Holiday Season

Excerpt from the December 5 City of Minneapolis e-newsletter:

If you recycle or compost through the City’s collection program, here’s guidance on getting rid of an item:

• Visit the City website.
• Search our online disposal guide.
• Join Solid Waste & Recycling’s Facebook group and post a photo with your question.

If you don’t have City collection, check Hennepin County's Green Disposal Guide.

How to dispose of common holiday items:

• Holiday lights. Post usable holiday lights on Buy Nothing, another social media exchange site, or bring to a donation center. Bring non-working holiday lights and holiday lights that were not accepted for donation to a Hennepin County drop-off site.
• Pie tins, trays and aluminum foil. Recycle aluminum pie tins, trays and foil balls that have minimal food debris in your recycling cart. Aluminum foil must be in a ball at least 3 inches in size to be properly sorted.
• Gift wrap and bags. Reuse gift bags. Most wrapping paper is not recyclable and needs to be put in the trash. Only plain kraft paper gift wrap is accepted for recycling in your recycling cart. Make sure wrapping paper is flattened and not balled so it can be properly sorted. Consider alternatives to paper gift wrap and sticker gift labels.
• Cartons are accepted for recycling in your recycling cart. Keep them in their three-dimensional shape. They’re kept separate from other paper and shipped to special paper mills that can manage the layers of plastic and aluminum.

See Hennepin County’s checklist for gift wrap alternatives and other ways to reduce waste this holiday seasons.

Extra cardboard and recycling over the holidays:

A lot of people have extra recycling this time of year. Here’s how to set out extra recycling on your recycling day:

• For boxes that do not fit in your recycling cart, you can place them next to your recycling cart in another box. Keep boxes set outside of the cart to less than 3' x 3' and under 40 pounds. This is for safety and proper sorting.
• Put any extra bottles and cans next to your recycling cart in cardboard boxes or paper bags. (If you use plastic bags, the entire bag will be disposed of as garbage.)

Remember there's no charge to get another recycling cart. If you regularly have more recycling that will fit in your cart(s), contact our office at 612-673-2917 to request another cart.