Holiday trash: What should be recycled rather than thrown away

By Ashley Luthans

Christmas is in the rearview mirror and the whirlwind of wrapping paper, tape, cardboard and ribbons has left people wondering what they should do with the mess.

Many individuals and families woke up on Thursday, Dec. 26, thinking about what they will do with all of the Christmas aftermath.

Although it is easier to throw everything in the trash can, it is better to recycle certain items.

Wrapping paper, cardboard and tissue paper are a few holiday items that are best recycled instead of being tossed in a landfill.

Landfill heavy equipment operator Jason Hannemann shared why people should recycle instead of throwing everything in the trash.

“The more you’re recycling, the less that’s going into the ‘fill, the less environmental impact there will be,” Hannemann said. “So it’s definitely worth while.”

Another holiday staple that can be recycled is Christmas trees. St. Joseph residents can take live trees to the Drake Softball Complex, located at 22nd Street and Southwest Parkway, from now through Jan. 26 to be disposed by the city.

Hannemann explained what the city does with the Christmas trees.

“It’s a natural product, so what we’ll do is we’ll pick them up with a dumpster, or if there’s enough of them we’ll bring our grinder out over there,” Hannemann said. “Either grind them on site or bring them back here and they go through our grinder, get turned into wood chips and then we can reuse them. We’ll use them on wet days on the roads here or people can come get the wood chips, use in their gardens if they want to.”