Recycle Responsibly.  Keep holiday lights, bags and styrofoam (in all its forms) out of recycling bins. ‘Tis the season for gifting. So make your curbside recycling gift well-received. Don’t be one of those “re-gifters” of things no one wants. For more info about common recycling FAQ during the holidays read on…

Nobody wants to be re-gifted an item they can’t use. That includes the recyclers! Americans tend to increase waste by 25% this time of year, and no one wants to just throw stuff in the landfill which makes our decisions about how to Recycle Responsibly even more important to ensure the right stuff gets in the right place.

Read this article and then, please, take the time this year to inform a friend or neighbor about how to recycle responsibly. Truth is, not everyone knows how.

Having trouble setting the Holiday dinner table? Can’t tell a salad fork from a dinner fork? 

Recycling can be just as confusing but just as rewarding once you figure it out! Since the 1970s, curbside recyclers have only wanted 6 types of items: cardboard, mixed paper, aluminum and metal cans, glass bottles, plastic containers (bottles). (They added food and beverage cartons recently for you soy milk and juice box drinkers!)

Can I recycle wrapping paper with the ribbons and bows still attached?
NO! Try wrapping gifts in reusable bags instead of paper

My tree is plastic, should it go in the recycling bin?
NO! 85% of households have an artificial tree that has no where to go but in the landfill and is most likely from China and contaminated with lead. Real trees are farmed keeping open space from other development, maintaining soil water permeability, sequestering carbon, providing some habitat cover for wildlife both during its growth and as mulch when your season is done. Buy local to reduce embodied energy in transportation or start a new holiday decoration tradition that doesn’t use a tree!

See below for Holiday Light and Christmas Tree collection locations.

From old clothing, Christmas wrapping paper and boxes to holiday lights, foam packaging and plastic bags, some material can go in your recycling bin (most wrapping paper can – but no bows/ribbons or metallic-covered paper) but other items actually cause the recycling facility to shut down, leading to potential injury of workers to untangle garden hoses, plastic bags, clothing, VHS tapes, and strings of holiday lights from the machinery.

No packing/shipping material or plastic bags should go in your recycling container (e.g. styrofoam and air “pillows” and bubble wrap). Remove the styrofoam from the cardboard box, flatten the box and recycle it; throw the Styrofoam in the trash. 

Watch this video about the impact of “tanglers” like plastic bags on a recycling facility; this is happening right now in St. Louis! They need our help to clean up recycling and keep bags OUT!

Now watch this video how plastic bags are recycled into more plastic bags at the Hilex Poly facility in Indiana.

If you get a plastic bag while shopping, plastic bags can be taken to the grocery store recycling collection containers when you return to the store to get that can of pumpkin pie mix you forgot but this time you remembered to bring your reusable bags! Look for this sign at Schnucks!

Until there is a federal policy initiative like the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, it is up to local municipalities to determine how to manage our recycling and waste. That means service can be different based on who is contracted to haul your waste. Check with your hauler for specific details.

Go to Recycle Responsibly to find recycling information and important links for information for every county in the St. Louis region. St. Louis City Recycles is your best resource for region-wide information on recycling all kinds of materials from the 6 Single-Stream curbside materials (cardboard, mixed paper, glass bottles, metal cans, plastic containers, food and beverage cartons) to those “Beyond the Blue Bin” items like carpet, clothing, electronics and bicycles that need to be recycled through drop-off locations at various area businesses.

We can choose to REDUCE our consumption, REUSE what we can, and RECYCLE what is accepted. So when you give the gift of recycling – don’t re-gift that old sweater or string of lights to the recycling bin, Stick to the 6 for single-stream (all-in-one) recycling, and donate the sweater to Remains and you will make the recycling industry very happy! 

 

FATS, OILS and GREASE: The Metropolitan Sewer District has lots of information about protecting our rivers and streams. When you are cooking for so many people you are bound to have a lot more leftover grease. Our sewers are old and need our help to keep them running clear. At home, that leftover bacon or turkey grease should go in the trash rather than down the drain where it can clog the pipes. Watch these videos for more information.

Leaves need to be kept out of storm drains like in this video. Storm drains lead directly into rivers and leaves can pollute our waterways by increasing chemicals and solids that reduce oxygen levels for fish and other animals as seen in this MSD Project Clear video.

SALT: We know that high levels of salt can raise our blood pressure. That’s unhealthy. For rivers, like our blood, high salt levels are unhealthy; afterall, they are supposed to be full of FRESH water, not SALT water. When we over apply salt, we not only are wasting money but also harming our drinking water supplies. To learn how to properly use salt on your sidewalk this winter visit the Metropolitan Sewer District website and watch this short how to Take It Easy on the Salt! video. Shovel first, salt lightly later. Keep your sidewalks clear of snow and use traction sand instead of salt. 

Holiday Lights will be collected at the following locations. 

Christmas Trees will be collected at the following locations: 

This post was updated 12/2/2020