How to dispose of holiday wrapping

Packages, boxes, bags, cards; The holidays can be filled with single-use items. Make sure you know how to properly dispose of them.

Think reuse first What can you use again before disposing? Save bows, gift bags and tissue paper that can be reused. Think of creative ways to package gifts that don’t require new materials.

Holiday cards Cards and envelopes made of only paper should be placed in the curbside recycling bin or your apartment’s recycling collection. Cards with foil, glitter, ribbons or velvet are not recyclable and should be placed in the trash.

Cards that light up or play music do not belong in the trash because they contain batteries. Bring them to the year-round household hazardous waste collection site for free.

Wrapping paper Put wrapping paper in the trash. Do not put it in your recycling bin because it does not sort easily at the recycling facility and may contain materials that cannot be recycled.

Find disposal options for other items, including cardboard boxes, real and artificial trees and string lights on our A to Z Recycling & Disposal Guide.

Smart salting tips

Salt helps keeps roads, driveways and sidewalks safe during our snowy Minnesota winters. However, using large amounts of salt can harm the environment, including plants, soil and groundwater. Follow these tips to avoid overusing salt:

• Shovel first. Clear snow off walkways before it can turn to ice. 
• Check the temperature. Use sand for traction instead of salt when it’s below 15 degrees outside. Salt doesn’t melt ice at that temperature.
• A little goes a long way. A 12-ounce cup of salt covers about 250 square feet, which is about the size of a 20-foot driveway or enough to cover 10 sidewalk squares.
• Sweep it up. If salt is visible on dry pavement, it is no longer doing any work and will be washed away. Sweep up the salt and either reuse or throw it away.

 Learn more about salting responsibly.

Ask EH: Batteries

Q: My kids always get a lot of battery-operated toys as gifts during the holidays. How do I dispose of the old batteries? Can they just go on the trash?

A: Batteries should not go in the trash, as some like rechargeable batteries and lithium batteries can cause fires. With so many different types of batteries in use these days, the best practice is to bring all types of batteries to the year-round household hazardous waste collection site for free. Follow these steps to prepare batteries:

1. Put a small piece of clear tape over the positive and negative ends of each battery. Use clear tape so staff can see the battery type. Do not use masking tape or painter’s tape.
2. Place taped batteries in a plastic tub with a loose-fitting lid. Store the batteries in a cool, dry location that is out of reach of children until you are ready to recycle them.
3. Bring batteries to the year-round household hazardous waste collection site for free.

Do you have a question about recycling and disposal and can’t find the answer in our A to Z Recycling & Disposal Guide? Call our recycling & disposal hotline at 651-633-EASY (3279) or send us a message.

Recipe round-up: Sour milk pancakes

Impress your loved ones on a blustery, winter morning with pancakes! Bonus: This recipe from Save the Food will use up that milk that’s been sitting in the back of the fridge for a suspiciously long time…