By Ed McGrath and Gene Kalb
It’s beginning to look a lot like (the day after) Christmas.
Just in time for the holidays, and this year’s Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve collections of trash and recycling here’s a quick review of what holiday items can and cannot be recycled.
Let’s start with an easy one:
- Catalogs: They can be recycled.
- Packing peanuts: Contact UPS Store on Great Road or Staples in Burlington to see if they accept foam peanuts for reuse. If not, put them in the trash, not the recycling bin.
- Styrofoam: All Styrofoam should go in the trash. Feel free to bring it all to 108 Carlisle Road on Wednesday, December 26 from 8:30 am to 5 pm. The DPW will have a dumpster for it.
- Gift bags, wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, and tissue paper: Reuse if you can but if you can’t, put them in the trash, not in your recycling bin. Gift bags can be thrown in your recycling bin unless there is metallic ink, foil or glitter on them. On those bags you do recycle, don’t forget to cut the string handles off.
- Holiday Lights: These definitely should not go in the recycling bin. If you are motivated to find another life for these lights mail them to Christmas Light Source (https://www.christmas-light-source.com/Christmas-Lights-Recycling-Program_c_210.html) or Holiday LEDs (https://www.christmas-light-source.com/Christmas-Lights-Recycling-Program_c_210.html) for recycling and get a coupon to use towards new holiday lights
- Greeting cards: Greeting cards and their envelopes are recyclable unless there is metallic ink, foil or glitter on them, in which case, you should toss them in the trash.
- Disposable plates, cups, cutlery, and napkins: A staple of many holiday get-togethers, but unfortunately, they cannot be recycled even if there is a number in the recycling triangle on the item. These items should go in the trash after you’re done with them.
- Holiday cookie tins: Can be reused or recycled. Just eat all the cookies first and remove any cling wrap or waxed paper.
- Bubble wrap: Can be recycled at retail stores with plastic bags and other film products. Padded envelopes with bubble wrap on the inside go in the trash can.
A good source of info if you are unsure what to do with something is the Recycle Smart website, an initiative by the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (https://recyclesmartma.org/), with its Recyclopedia and Smart Recycling Guide.
Editor’s Note: Don’t forget that the DPW will collect Styrofoam and cardboard at 106 Carlisle Road on December 26, and there will be roadside collection of Christmas trees in early 2019 – Check back for a link to the full information
Recycling is good. It helps the environment, helps the town, and makes you feel you’re doing your part. That being said, not all things are easy to recycle, no matter what you may think. Putting your Styrofoam coffee cup in the bin might feel right, but is actually detrimental and costly to us in Bedford. There are other things that fall into the category of “should” be recycled, but without understanding what happens “downstream,” your wishful thinking could end up causing more trouble. You may not have been aware that all recycled material gets sorted, and one of the most cost effective sorts happens at your bin. Understanding what happens after your recycling bucket has been collected can help make that downstream work easier. Accordingly, we are embarking on a new series that hopefully will answer the “whys “ and “whats” of recycling here in Bedford.
The Bedford Citizen has teamed up with Ed McGrath from the Bedford Department of Public Works to create “Know-Nos of Recycling” to explain what happens once you put something in the recycle bin. We’ll also explain why it’s so important to only put the correct stuff in your recycle bins. If you have questions, please send them along.
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