Christmas memories are made of smiles, time with our families and friends, turkey dinner and presents. They’re also made of piles of crumpled gift wrap, ribbons and bows, plastic packaging, cardboard boxes and chunks of Styrofoam used to protect fragile gifts.
There’s a lot to get rid of.
But everything from appliances, computers, cards, furniture, Christmas lights and bottles can be recycled. Public and private sector depots are gearing up for a busy time of year. Trees can be chipped. Depots take old television sets replaced by new models, along with other appliances and much more.
Monique Booth, Capital Regional District spokeswoman, has plenty of tips, including considering donating items in good condition to charity or selling them.
“For those last-minute shoppers and wrappers, try to use materials that can be reused, like cloth bags or cookie tins, or recycled, like colour comics, magazines and old posters,” she said.
She suggested putting a blue recycling bag under the tree, ready to take paper.
The amount of items to be recycled at the curb rises by about 25 per cent during the holiday season, Booth said.
Don’t worry about how much you’ve got on the curb. There’s no limit to the number of CRD blue boxes and bags, she said.
Curbside blue bag pickup will take paper gift wrap. But it will not accept plastic bows and ribbons, or foil, cellophane and other non-paper wrap.
If you use aluminum foil on baking trays, it can go in the blue box if clean and flattened, Booth said. Milk and eggnog cartons are accepted too.
Clean pizza boxes can go with flattened cardboard.
The Hartland Recycling Facility takes items you can’t recycle at the curb, including film plastic and Styrofoam and Christmas lights.
People drop off a larger than usual amount of electronics, such as televisions and computers, lights, and other appliances at Hartland during this time of year, Booth said.
Hartland is closed on Christmas and Boxing days. The following Friday and Saturday are typically busy, she said.
Residents whose blue- box collection days fall on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day will have their collection day on the following Saturday.
Collection will take place as usual today.
Look on the CRD’s website in late December to find places that will chip your tree.
London Drugs takes back Styrofoam and other packaging, such as plastics and cardboard, for products purchased at the store. Take your receipt with the packaging.
For more information on items accepted by London Drugs, go to greendeal.ca/
bring-back-the-pack.
Ellice Recycling Ltd., 524 David St., takes a vast array of items. For information on what it accepts and for costs, go to ellicerecycle.com.
“We take every bit of Christmas wrapping that comes in, from the packaging to the Styrofoam, to the plastics hard and soft,” said Steve Biles, a company operations manager.
An on-site heating unit breaks down Styrofoam and a compactor handles bulky cardboard, he said.
Extra staff and extra bins are brought in at this time of year to make the drop-off experience run smoothly.
There is often a lull immediately after Christmas and then people start bringing in their recyclable items, Biles said. “That’s what we are there for. We love it.”
Appliances, scrap lumber from pre-holiday reno projects and metal can all be brought to David Street. Televisions and other electronics are accepted, and a yard and garden bin takes trees.
If you have any holiday recycling questions call the Capital Regional District’s hotline at 250-360-3030.
To find out where you can take various items locally, go to
myrecyclopedia.ca.
For the list of what’s accepted at Hartland Recycling Facility, go to crd.bc.ca/service/waste-recycling.
The Recycling Council of B.C.’s website, rcbc.ca/recyclepedia, will also direct you to recycling locations.
