Recycle your wrapping paper this Christmas

Christmas has come and gone and now it's our job to make sure all that wrapping paper is also gone, in a green way.

The Region of Waterloo reminding residents this year that wrapping paper can be put in the blue box.

Here is a quick guide for what can and can't be accepted.

GARBAGE:

Ribbons and bows
Foil or plastic wrapping paper
Foil, cellophane and plastic gift bags
Plastic, foil or glitter greeting cards

RECYCLABLE – PAPER AND PLASTIC BAGS ONLY BOX:

Plain wrapping paper
Plain paper gift bags
Plain paper greeting cards

These sorting rules may seem overwhelming at first, but the Region of Waterloo reminding us that different types of plastic and paper can't be recycled together. There's tips and tricks on their WEBSITE.

They say, “even the tiniest bit of wrong material can contaminate and spoil a whole batch for recycling.”

When it comes to the larger items, such as your Christmas tree, all decorations, lights, tinsel, nails, stands and tree bags needs to be removed from your Christmas tree before bringing it to the curb.  It will be picked up on your regular collection day in the beginning on January.

The maximum length of tree accepted is 1.8 m (6 ft.).

Still not sure if you should put something in the blue bins? You can search your item on the Region's sorting search engine, Waste Whiz.