You are here:
Home > Residents > Greening the Holidays
Have a Question or Comment? Let us know!
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 trash hauler for more information.
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. Hard copies of the book are no longer available, but you can 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.
Other retailers offer recycling programs throughout the year. The District maintains a list of these free programs here.
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!
Until January 11, the Solid Waste District will be collecting broken, burned out or tangled strings of holiday lights for recycling. Simply drop unwanted light strings, power cords and power strips in the marked box in our lobby at 4750 East 131 Street in Garfield Heights. Hours are Monday-Friday from 8:30-4:30. (Some city service departments are also collecting lights from residents as a part of this program. Check with your community.)
The lights will be recycled by Acme Electronics Recycling in Galion, Ohio. Acme will put the lights through a large, commercial shredder. The shredded material will be shipped to vendors that purify the copper content, glass, plastic and other commodity streams for industrial reuse.
Sorry... we cannot accept pre-lit trees. Lights must be removed from the tree for proper recycling.
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. If your turkey fryer still has oil in it from the last holiday meal, drain it out and take it to your community's next household hazardous waste collection day. We're happy to accept and recycle fryer oil from Cuyahoga County households.
Additionally, 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.