Make balls of holly, mistletoe or even caramel corn if you must, but please don’t wad up your wrapping paper this holiday season.

Keeping it flat helps “make all the paper and the cardboard go through the recycling facility correctly,” said Krystal Noiseux, the education and outreach manager at Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC). “I know during the holidays we like to crunch things up into huge balls, but the way the recycling system works is that everything that is flat moves one way and everything that has a shape moves another.” Keeping the wrapping paper, your tissue paper, your tubes and everything as flat as possible helps increase the amount of it that can be recycled, she said. 

Johnston is one of the greatest contributors of waste to the facility.

“If you look at trash per person, or per household served, Johnston’s probably the highest. I would attribute that to a couple of things. One is that the town isn’t charged for disposal, so the town has less of a need to really do that big focus of waste reduction with residents,” said Noiseux. “The other part of that is that Johnston residents can go to Town Hall and get a special permit, where they can do 12 free dumps a year. So if they’re doing a big renovation project, you could clean all that up and bring that here. Other cities and towns would require a private removal.” 

The amount of waste collected increases significantly between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, something Noiseux is trying to change.

“So many people want to do the right thing, they just need the information. An upswing in trash around the holidays makes it a good time to offer tips for how to dispose of special items as well as “remind people of the correct way to recycle in their bin or cart,” she said.

Christmas trees are picked up in Johnston, but elsewhere it depends on cities and towns. Completely bare trees are accepted for free at the landfill. They are turned into mulch that is used onsite and sold to the general public.

For glass icicles decorating a tree, “if they break, they are not recyclable. Glass bottles and jars are recyclable,” said Noiseux.

Don’t recycle the wire that’s on the wreath. “We get a lot this time of year. It should not go in your recycling bin,” she said. Tin foil, unlike paper, can be bunched up to help it move with the containers. Do not recycle tinsel, heavy-duty plastic gift bags or mylar balloons.

For the safety of the staff, do not ever recycle Christmas light strings. “When they wrap around, they will literally shut down the equipment and workers then have to climb onto the screens to pull them or cut them out,” said Noiseux. “It’s very dangerous and they have to do it a few times a day during this time of the year.” 

The RIRRC offers an A to Z search tool, found online at www.rirrc.org/AtoZ, for guidance.

“If you type in something like Christmas tree lights, you’ll get any of those special dropoff or mail in programs for those items,” she said.

With people out shopping, it’s also good to remember the rule about plastic bags. They don’t go in your recycling bin, and don’t put recycling items in a plastic bag and put it out. “Items should be loose,” said Noiseux. “Take these bags back to major stores, where most have a dropoff bin. If plastic bags are being thrown away, tie them in knots. One of the largest problems on the active side of the landfill is plastic bags being blown by the wind.” 

After a long day of holiday shopping or partying, takeout food and drink becomes an easy way to fight fatigue and make life easier for families but quickly adds to the trash tonnage.

“With certain cardboards, such as pizza boxes, there’s always a little grease at the bottom, and that’s fine…if it’s completely soaked in grease and it was a really good pizza, just use your best judgment and maybe rip off the top and recycle that,” she said.

When baking, pay attention to the containers.

“I don’t want someone running their peanut butter jar through the dishwasher, that’s a waste. Just scrape out as much as possible, things that come clean easily a quick rinse will do it,” she said. “We’re not looking for perfection, but anytime you have a sink available and can do a quick rinse for something it’s greatly appreciated.”

“With plastics, the rule of thumb here is containers. If it’s not in the form of a container, it doesn’t belong in your recycling bin or cart,” said Noiseux. “For so long, people have been looking at the number on plastics, or the little triangle at the bottom and that’s caused so much confusion. I tell people don’t even look at that, just ask yourself, ‘Is this a container?’ If it is, it’s probably recyclable.” 

Additionally, Styrofoam, which breaks easily and is difficult to handle, isn’t accepted in bins, but there is a container at the small vehicle area at the landfill that will accept Styrofoam dropoffs for free.

While some waistlines are sure to expand this time of year with all the holiday feasts and treats, perhaps the best place to trim waste is at the dinner table.

“When we talk about the three ‘R’s’ we talk about reduce and reuse first, and then talk about recycle. One of the biggest ways we can reduce at the holidays is if you’re having your big holiday family dinner at your house, opt to use reusable dishware, silverware and cloth napkins, because all of those single use items are not recycle,” said Noiseux. “That will make a huge impact.”

But sometimes, there’s just no alternative for the gift that’s no longer wanted or needed, and there’s only one thing to do. 

“If you can’t figure it out, it’s trash,” said Noiseux.