The holidays produce some weird waste specific to the post-Christmas purge. When else are people looking to unload mass quantities of tiny light bulbs, sheets of bubble wrap and entire dead trees over the same week?
For those looking to un-deck their halls, they should keep in mind the limitations on disposing of certain holiday paraphernalia.
Not everything can go in the recycling bin, and not everything should go in the trash. When in doubt, ask the experts.
“We have a search tool online, it’s a free app and it’s a web tool. It’s called Recycle Right,” said Melissa Johnston, a waste reduction specialist at Waste Connections.
“It’s customized for Clark County. You can type in any item you’re thinking of — Christmas lights, or wrapping paper — and it’ll show you recycling options, or whether it’s garbage.”
Donate or dispose?
If storing Christmas lights until next year isn’t an option, consider donating working lights to a local Goodwill or thrift store. Six Goodwill locations in Clark County accept secondhand string lights — three in Vancouver (1200 S.E. 162nd Place, 14300 N.E. 20th Ave. and 6425 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd.), one in Hazel Dell (1600 N.E. 78th St.), one in Orchards (9025 N.E. 117th Ave.) and one in Battle Ground (101 N.W. 20th Ave.)
Share, Open House Ministries and ReTails Thrift Store, all in Vancouver, also accept used Christmas lights.
“As long as they work and they’re sellable,” said Kristine Moore, supervisor at ReTails.
Moore said that holiday lights tend to come to the store in waves: one right after Thanksgiving, one right after Christmas and one during spring cleaning. Before donating lights to any thrift store, call ahead of time and make sure they’re still accepting them.
Broken lights can be recycled, with a caveat.
“The No. 1 thing not to do would be to put them in the blue recycling cart,” Johnston said.
They tangle the sorting machinery and create a nightmare at the recycling facility.
“It’s the same story with plastic bags or any kinds of stretchy plastic,” Johnston explained. Garden hoses and wire hangers pose a similar problem — all items commonly thrown into the recycling bin in a well-meaning but misguided practice called “wishcycling.”
“It just doesn’t play nice,” she said.
Recycling string lights may require a special trip. Local facilities that accept them include EH Metal Recycling in Orchards, Lowe’s Home Improvement in east Vancouver and Total Reclaim in Portland.
And as with all electronics, it’s a bad idea to throw string lights in the trash. They technically can go to the landfill, but the little bulbs are prone to shatter and some can release small amounts of mercury and lead.
Tree pickup
On Jan. 5, the Boy Scouts of America will hold its annual Christmas tree hauling event.
“The Boy Scouts are planning to cover pretty much the entire county in pickup and then recycle the trees,” said Cathy Sbur, the tree recycling coordinator for BSA’s Fort Vancouver District.
To participate, undecorated trees should be placed outside by 8 a.m. Scouts are requesting a suggested donation of $10, and are also collecting used coats in partnership with Friends of the Carpenter.
The effort will involve a few hundred Scouts ages 6 to 21 years across 60 different units, Sbur said.
“We just divide the county up into little sections, and then each unit takes a section,” Sbur said.
They’ll cover everywhere, with the exception of Yacolt and Amboy.
“Most of those property owners have a burn pile and just take care of it themselves,” Sbur said. “If you’re in a suburb, you’re pretty much covered by the Scouts.”
The collected trees will be chipped and recycled, Sbur said. The donations cover the cost of gas and materials used in the pickup event, with the remainder going to support Scouting programs.
If you miss the pickup time or can’t wait until Jan. 5, trees that fit in the green bin can be collected with normal curbside yard waste pickup.
Artificial trees, or real trees with artificial coatings, are unrecyclable and should go in the garbage.
Cheat sheet for dealing with paper, packaging items
The online Recycle Right tool offers a searchable, item-by-item database of how to dispose or recycle common goods. Here’s a holiday cheat sheet for common paper and packing materials:
• Bows, ribbons and tape go in the trash, as does any metallic or foiled wrapping paper. Standard wrapping paper can go in the blue recycling bin.
• Clean, unpopped bubble wrap is accepted for reuse by most local grocery stores and post offices, but anyone looking to drop it off should call the facility ahead of time. If it’s dirty or damaged, throw it in the trash. The same goes for plastic shipping envelopes.
• Foam packing peanuts are similarly reused by most post offices, shipping centers or UPS locations. They can be dropped off there — again, call ahead — or thrown in the trash. They’re not recyclable through curbside pickup.
• Cardboard boxes can go in the blue recycling bin as long as they’re deconstructed and flattened.
