Greening the Holidays

End-of-the-year holidays, celebrations and special occasions usually generate more trash and waste than other "normal" times of the year. Check out these tips and tricks for recycling more and creating a lot less trash during your special event.

Christmas trees

Each year, 10 million Christmas trees end up in the landfill. While your tree won't fit in the recycling bin with your newspapers and bottles, you can recycle your tree. Many cities offer programs to turn your tree to mulch or wood chips. Call your city service department or check out our list online.

Christmas cards

When the holidays are over, send your cards to St. Jude's Ranch, a nonprofit home for youths that collects old holiday cards for reuse. Either cut off the backs of the cards or leave them intact. Children at St. Jude's earn money by creating new holiday cards from the old. Visit www.stjudesranch.org/shop/recycled-card-program/

You can also include your Christmas cards in with your city’s regular mixed paper recycling program. Do not include foil, ribbon, or photo cards.

Gift wrap, gift boxes, ribbon and bows

Gift wrap paper, holiday cards and boxes that are 100 percent paper can be recycled. Foil, plastic coating, ribbon, bows and glitter cannot be put into recycle bins. Don’t forget to have your recycling container handy while everyone is opening gifts. Recycle curbside with your regular weekly paper collection or drop-off the paper at a local Abitibi Paper Retriever container. You can also take advantage of over 150 drop-offs for recycling, including mixed paper, in the City of Cleveland.

Pass it on!

Donate unwanted clothes, toys, and other unwanted items to non-profit organizations that accept donations. The District publishes a book called Pass It On: A Resource-Full Guide to Donating Usable Stuff that lists over 125 local organizations that accept donations year-round. Order a copy of the book by calling (216) 698-2265. Or check out our searchable database at www.cuyahogaswd.org/en-US/pass-it-on.aspx

BYOB(ag)

During the nation’s busiest shopping season, bring your own shopping bags. Paper, plastic and cloth are all good; the latter two can be folded easily into purses and pockets until used. Or consolidate your purchases into one bag rather than getting a new bag at each store on your shopping rounds.

Cell phones and electronics

Getting a new cell phone for Christmas? Drop off that old phone at any AT&T, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Staples, Verizon, or other retail store that offers recycling services in store. Each year, 130 million cell phones are thrown out, weighing approximately 65,000 tons. Recycling your old phone prevents hazardous elements like mercury, cadmium and lead from ending up in our landfills.

Energy-saving holiday lights

Decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season! For information about recycling your old lights, visit www.holidayleds.com/holidayledscom_christmas_light_recycling_program

Fryer oil

Over 2 million folks across the country deep-fry their turkey every Thanksgiving, and cleaning up can be troublesome. With 3-to-5 gallons of used oil on your hands, disposing of it isn't as easy as just putting it in the garbage. Some city service departments collect fryer oil for disposal, so check with your municipality to see if there is a local drop-off. Restaurants and bars might be willing to take your fryer oil and add it in to their regular fryer oil collection.

Locally, fryer oil is converted to biodiesel by Filtafry in Bay Village and Full Circle Fuels in Oberlin, Ohio.

Styrofoam

Styrofoam is a trade name for expanded polystyrene (EPS). Locally, Styrofoam #6 EPS can be recycled at Buckeye Industries, 33851 Curtis Boulevard, Suite 207 in Eastlake. Buckeye Industries will take Styrofoam #6 EPS from individuals as well as businesses as long as it’s not contaminated with food or chemicals. The Styrofoam is processed through a densifier and is sold to a company that uses the product to make molded picture frames. For more information, call (440) 942-1605.

Styrofoam peanuts from packaging can be taken to Northcoast Recycling, 1305 Lloyd Road in Wickliffe. For more information, call (440) 943-6968. Packing peanuts can also be donated to a store that ship packages like the UPS stores. Or reuse it as your own packing material.

Drop off extra packing peanuts at local private mailing centers. Call the Plastic Loosefill Council’s Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214 for the names of local businesses that reuse them. (Stores often offer discounts for returning packing materials like cartons and boxes.)

Batteries

Batteries that are rechargeable and/or contain heavy metals should be recycled. This includes lithium, lithium ion, nickel metal hydride, zinc air, and lead acid batteries. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) provides recycling drop-off locations for rechargeable batteries at area retail stores. For a complete list call 1-800-8- BATTERY or visit www.rbrc.com

Alkaline batteries can be safely disposed of with normal household waste. These batteries are classified by the federal government as non-hazardous waste. Alkaline batteries are composed primarily of common metals - steel, zinc and manganese - and do not pose a health or environmental risk during normal use or disposal. Cost-effective and environmentally safe recycling processes are not yet universally available for alkaline batteries.

Food

Food and holiday celebrations go together like jingle and bells. Rather than throwing the excess food away, donate leftovers to a local food pantry or organization that feeds the needy. The Cleveland Foodbank accepts food products from all types of donors including caterers and commercial entities. See their guidelines for making a food and fund drives donation or a food industry donation to the Cleveland Foodbank.