During the holiday season, recycling becomes even more important as households generate increased amounts of waste, including paper holiday cards, gift bags and boxes, and electronics. The Fairfax County Government has issued guidance to help residents properly recycle common holiday items.
According to the county’s recommendations, most wrapping papers, cardboard boxes, and paper boxes should be recycled curbside. However, certain items should not be placed in curbside recycling bins. These include strands of Christmas lights and broken bulbs or lights—these can damage recycling machinery and should instead be taken to electronics recycling at the I-66 Transfer Station in Fairfax or the I-95 Complex in Lorton. Other non-recyclable items include tinsel (which contains plastic), plastic bags and film, bubble wrap, metallic or foil wrapping paper, wrapping paper with glitter or coatings, bows, ribbons, tags, stockings, ugly holiday sweaters and other clothing.
Residents are encouraged to donate clothing through new textile recycling programs. Glass bottles and jars can be recycled at designated purple can club bins.
The county also offers tips for reducing waste during the holidays: reuse gift bags; wrap presents in recyclable materials like newspaper; avoid single-use plastics such as ribbons and tinsel; decorate with reusable items or natural materials like strung popcorn; and use family heirloom decorations when possible. Food scraps generated from large holiday meals can be dropped off at either the I-66 Transfer Station or the I-95 Landfill complex during operating hours.
For those wondering how to dispose of live Christmas trees after the holidays, all decorations must be removed before placing trees at the curb for collection during the first two weeks of January. Alternatively, residents may bring their trees to a solid waste facility for a small fee—the trees will then be processed into mulch that is offered free to county residents.
“Use gift bags – they can be reused several times! Wrap presents in paper bags or newspaper, then place the paper in your recycling cart Reuse gift boxes, then dispose of them with your recycling Try to avoid single use plastics like plastic ribbons, bows, and tinsel Decorate using items that can be reused for other holidays or events Decorate using items such as strung popcorn and family heirloom decorations If you have food scraps, they can be dropped off at the I-66 Transfer Station or the I-95 Landfill complex during operating hours”
“Remove all decorations and place the tree at the curb. Your collector will pick it up during the first two weeks of January.”
“For a small fee, you can also self-haul it to one of our solid waste facilities… The trees will be processed with other brush into mulch and the mulch is offered for free to residents.”
Residents are advised to consult resources such as Recycling Wizard for more information on how specific items should be handled.