Gift wrap and garbage: City of Calgary details holiday recycling rules

The holidays can be a time of excess, with lots of gifts, food and waste, but there are ways to minimize your footprint.

The holiday season often brings with it an abundance of gifts, food, and consequently, waste.

As Calgarians prepare for the celebrations, experts are stressing that minimizing your environmental footprint is manageable through sustainable consumption and proper waste reduction.

Grace Wark, a waste division specialist with the City of Calgary, offered a simple way to test traditional wrapping paper for recyclability.

“If it’s easy to tear and it’s still made of all that nice fiber, you can take that wrapping paper, you can crumple it up and you can throw it directly into your blue cart at home,” Wark said.

If the wrapping paper is tough to tear, it should be placed in the garbage.

“The non-recyclable materials, that would be the plastic cellophane. Or if you’re looking at all the extra decorations, like metallic bows, those are non-recyclable,” Wark explained.

For plastics, the city suggested the “stretch test.” If the plastic stretches easily, like a bread bag or a shipping bag, it’s recyclable.

Plastic toys must go into the garbage.

Wark also issued a critical safety reminder: never throw batteries or battery-operated toys into the recycling or garbage. They pose an explosion risk when crushed in the plant.

“When you’re thinking of your batteries, just be sure to store them somewhere safely and then take them to any one of our City Eco Centers,” she advised.

Christmas trees can be composted but just remember to take off all decorations.

You can either cut it up and put it into your green cart, or drop is off at a City Eco Centre until January 31.

If you have any questions about where a particular item should go, the City’s website has an alphabetical ‘What Goes Where’ search tool.

Sustainable gift wrap

At Canary, a refillery and zero-waste market in Calgary, owner Lisa Whitford is encouraging more sustainable wrapping practices.

“The best tips that I have is to reuse what you can and go to the thrift store and purchase gift baskets. Or using tea towels or fabric, that sort of thing,” Whitford said.

She also suggests the simple act of saving and reusing bows, bags, and boxes.

But for those who want to get creative, Whitford offered several DIY options.

“You can make your own wrapping paper, which is a lot of fun by using old vintage wrap. You can use stamps, your children’s old artwork or another fun one is old calendars,” Whitford added.