A lot of us are cleaning up after the Christmas holiday.
YPR’s Orlinda Worthington reminds us what NOT to put into the recycling bin when the big day is over.
Once the gifts are opened and the cleanup begins it can be tempting to toss all the wrapping into the recycling bin - with the best intentions.
That’s what Kyle Foreman calls wish-cycling.
“They wish it could be recycled. So they'll just throw it in their bin and really not understand the consequences when it gets to where it's going. What the processor sees around Christmas time is that they get a bunch of ribbon, a bunch of glittery wrapping paper. And so the bows and the ribbon, they will get caught up around the machinery that actually sorts the material. Then they've got to take the equipment offline to fix it, which is just, it slows their production,” Foreman sai.
Foreman is the superintendent for Billings Solid Waste. He says if glitter or other contaminants make its way into a bale of recycled paper the entire thing gets dumped in the landfill.
“ If you're going to have something that's, uh, packaged in cardboard, make sure it's not stained with food or has residue, uh, food residue on it, because it'll contaminate the load,” Foreman said.
That includes foil food trays, used napkins and paper towels.
Plastic trees are not recyclable. Most Montana cities do recycle live trees… but the same rules apply.
“We don't want the Christmas trees that have the fake snow on it. Please make sure all your ornaments are off of it. All the tinsels off of it.”
Check your city's solid waste department for other recycling rules and where to drop off live trees. In Billings, I’m Orlinda Worthington.