In today’s society, the notion of recycling is more prevalent than ever before.
Most people have the common sense to recycle what they can for the sheer amount of benefits tied to recycling.
Although people try to recycle when the day arrives each week, holidays can be incredibly demanding with what you recycle and throw away.
More specifically, Christmas leads to a lot of trash and recyclables because of gift-giving.
With this in mind, can you recycle Christmas wrapping paper?
To answer this question…yes and no, you can recycle wrapping paper as long as it’s not foil, metallic, heavy laminated, has a plastic coating, ribbons, bows, or glitter. If it’s plain wrapping paper and passes the folding test (folds like paper) then it’s fine to recycle. On the other hand, some wrapping paper can become recyclable if the glitter or laminated part is ripped off. Either way, be aware of the wrapping paper and if it can be recycled or not.
With this knowledge, you might now have the approach to throw away all wrapping paper since it’s too complicated to recycle.
Try not to think like this since it’s actually a lot more straightforward than it appears.
Just be aware of what you can do with the wrapping paper and what steps you need to take for actually disposing of it.
To help with this, we’re going to discuss how you can dispose of it, what type of wrapping paper is and isn’t recyclable, and much more. Let’s take a look!
How do you dispose of Christmas wrapping paper?
As complicated as it might sound, the process of getting rid of wrapping paper isn’t too tricky.
First, open the gift as you usually would and worry about the wrapping paper later.
You don’t need to rush the entire process along; it is just wrapping paper, after all, so worry about that later.
Once it’s time to dispose of it, take a look at the wrapping paper and see if it’s disposable.
If it’s a plain paper that bends like ordinary paper, it should be acceptable to recycle.
If it’s a foil or metallic-like feeling, then you should just toss it in the garbage.
If it has glitter or a ribbon on it, you can remove it and recycle it as long as it’s standard wrapping paper.
Try to be thorough throughout the entire process.
If you can do that, you should be fine with actually disposing of the paper.
Seeing as wrapping paper is such a significant part of Christmas, it’s best you take the time necessary to ensure you get rid of the paper properly.
What type of wrapping paper is recyclable?
As discussed already, it’s essential to analyze the wrapping paper before throwing it out.
In case you didn’t know, wrapping paper dramatically varies in its texture and material itself.
As a result, it can be challenging to determine which wrapping paper should be thrown out versus being recycled.
A good rule of thumb is to try the folding test.
If it folds like paper, then it’s perfectly fine to recycle unless it has glitter or bows on it.
If it doesn’t, then it’s most likely a foil or metallic, meaning it needs to be thrown out in the trash instead of being recycled.
Thankfully, the online age has allowed us a plethora of information to know what’s okay to recycle and what’s not.
When it comes to wrapping paper, it may seem like all of it’s fine to recycle, but since a lot of it’s not, you might as well be patient in the matter.
Nevertheless, here is what’s okay to recycle for wrapping paper:
- Greeting Cards
- Catalogs
- Gift Boxes
- Plain Paper
- Other Recyclable Paper
What type of wrapping paper isn’t recyclable?
As vital as it is to recycle when you can, it’s a complete waste of time to try and recycle something that’s not recyclable.
If anything, it makes the entire process of recycling very difficult for the people involved in the field.
Regardless, be aware of the process and what wrapping paper is okay to toss away.
As already touched upon, if the wrapping paper doesn’t feel like paper when being folded, it most likely can’t be recycled.
This means foil, plastic-coated, metallic, and heavy laminated wrapping paper isn’t okay to be recycled.
Some people will rip the bits that aren’t recyclable off for it to be recycled, but again, you need to be careful.
Here is what’s not recyclable with wrapping paper:
- Foil
- Metallic
- Heavy Laminated Wrapping Paper
- Plastic Coating
- Ribbon
- Bows
- Glitter
Should I recycle Christmas wrapping paper?
At this point, you might be wondering if you should recycle Christmas paper.
Generally speaking, it’s always ideal for recycling when you can.
It has been shown to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserves natural resources, increases economic security, prevents pollution, and saves energy.
In short, if you’re hoping for a wide range of benefits, it’s in your best interest to recycle wrapping paper when you can.
Again, don’t just throw all wrapping paper into a recyclable, thinking it’ll be fine.
Take a look at it, try the folding test, and see if it’s okay to recycle.
You can also check the instructions on the paper to see if it is or not.
Is brown wrapping paper recyclable?
If you want to make your job easy, simple white or brown recycling paper is entirely recyclable.
This means you won’t have to worry about taking anything off or if you’re making a mistake with recycling the paper.
Brown or white wrapping paper is very easy to dispose of in this regard so try not to worry about the matter too much.
The flip side of this point is that brown or white wrapping paper isn’t very fun for kids to look at with their gifts.
The truth of the matter is that the gift is what matters, not the actual wrapping paper.
No kid is going to care about the wrapping paper if they love the gift.
The same can be said with adults or anyone for that matter.