‘Tis the season of joy and celebration! The holiday season brings with it delightful feasts, gift exchanges, and festive decorations that light up our homes. While reveling in these special moments, it’s crucial to acknowledge the waste that can accompany the holidays. From Christmas trees to unwanted gifts or refuse leftovers from gift unwrapping, household waste channels flow freely during the holiday season.

As you immerse yourself in the holiday spirit, consider the following tips for a more environmentally friendly celebration:

What Do I Do with My Giant Christmas Tree? 

A beautifully adorned Christmas tree is a quintessential symbol of the season. But what happens to your tree once the festivities wind down? 

For living trees…

Although the first thing that comes to many people’s minds when they think of living Christmas trees is ‘deforestation’, living Christmas trees are actually very environmentally friendly! They are fully organic and can be composted rather than ending up in a landfill. In order to ensure your Christmas tree is properly disposed of, follow these steps:

  1. REMOVE all decorations, tinsel, and stand from the tree.
  2. CUT* the tree into pieces, if needed, to fit into the green bin.
  3. PLACE the tree pieces inside the green bin and put them out for regular pick-up on collection day.

*If your Christmas tree is too big to cut and place inside the green bin, simply place the tree curbside next to your green waste bin on collection day.

For plastic / artificial trees…

Plastic trees carry with them one major downside…they can’t be recycled and end up in the landfill. However, the beauty of plastic trees is that they don’t need to be disposed of. They can be torn down and stored in anticipation of next year’s festivities. 

Getting rid of old ornaments?

First off, we personally recommend keeping your tree ornaments and decorations from year to year. This keeps them out of the landfills and helps add a sense of nostalgia to your future trees.

However, if you truly must get rid of old ornaments, make sure to put them in the right place. Unfortunately, tinsel can’t be recycled and needs to be thrown away or donated. The same goes for most ornaments – the recyclable exception are glitterless paper ornaments. Even though these ornaments and decorations can’t be recycled, they can always be used – donating your old decorations is a great way to ensure they bring even more holiday cheer for years to come.

What To Do With All of the Wrapping Scraps?

A large chunk of holiday waste comes from wrapping presents. While it may seem like just paper, disposing of these wrapping materials are more difficult than you might initially think. According to CalRecycle, plain wrapping paper and holidays can be recycled just like normal paper, so long as these items don’t glitter on them.If they have been glitter-touched, then unfortunately, they must be thrown away and sent to the landfill. 

Perhaps the biggest nuisance for recycling plant managers are ribbons. These beautiful, seemingly harmless finishing touches can easily get caught in much of the machinery that helps sort out recyclables. For this reason, ribbons are best sent to the landfill.

What About Unwanted Gifts?

We’ve all received gifts that don’t quite hit the mark. Instead of tossing them, consider alternative options: Regift It, Donate It, Return It, Sell It, Swap It, or Just Keep It. You may not have enjoyed that present, but that doesn’t mean that others feel the same way. Keep the spirit of giving going and let your unwanted gifts find a new home. Americans are guilty of throwing away nearly 16 billion dollars worth of unwanted gifts each year. Don’t contribute to the buildup in our landfills and the litter on our streets. Instead recycle those gifts by either finding them a new home yourself or giving them to a charity that can find them a new home. 

Have any other questions about disposing of holiday waste? Feel free to contact us at lastormwater@lacity.org