Christmas is a time for giving gifts to our loved ones, sharing a feast, and decorating the house and garden.
With that comes a lot of packaging and a little bit of waste. So how do you minimise the impact and care for the environment as well?
Horsham Rural City Council Waste Education Officer Alex Jaimes has some handy tips.
“Gift wrapping paper and paper or cardboard decorations often have a waxed or plastic coating that we need to be more careful with. Recyclers do not want paper coated in plastic or wax in the recycling and are now rejecting coffee cups and milk cartons. If it’s 100% paper, it can go in the recycling bin. If you’re not sure, it’s safer to put it in the general waste bin which has either a red or green lid. Small pieces of paper should go in the waste bin too,” Mr Jaimes said.
“Toy packaging often has a plastic window to show the product inside. The cardboard can go in the recycling bin if it’s not coated with plastic or wax, but please separate the plastic window and put it in the waste bin so it doesn’t contaminate the recyclables,” he said.
Mr Jaimes said crushing cans and flattening boxes would help fit more in the bin when gift packaging mounts up.
“Prawn heads and crayfish shells could make your bin smelly, with warmer weather coming up in the next week. If you’re worried about the smell, you can keep them in the fridge or freezer and put them in the bin when you put it out for collection,” Mr Jaimes said.
Be aware that, with some people away, collections may run at an earlier time than usual.
Remember, if your recycling bin is overfull, you can take it to a transfer station and empty it for free.
All transfer stations and the Dooen Landfill will operate as normal apart from December 25 when they will close for Christmas Day.
