GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. -- Now that the presents have been opened, many of you are probably anxious to get rid of that pile of wrapping paper and Christmas decorations.
It’s important to know that not all of your holiday items can be recycled, and for those that can be, there are rules you have to follow.
We contacted the City of High Point and the City of Greensboro to find out which festive pieces can be recycled.
Artificial trees can’t be recycled, but natural ones can be recycled.
“Natural trees that are undecorated, garlands, or wreaths that have nothing artificial or no metal left in them, those can actually be disposed of with your yard waste, so that comes on the same day as your garbage,” said Laura McCoy, beautification coordinator with the City of High Point.
The City of High Point will accept Christmas lights, but they cannot be placed in recycling containers, they must be brought to the Material Recovery Facility at 5875 Riverdale Drive in Jamestown.
In Greensboro, lights would have to go to the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center located at 2750 Patterson St. in Greensboro.
Generally, paper gift boxes and cardboard packages are recyclable.
Wrapping paper may or may not be recyclable.
The City of High Point accepts it, but the City of Greensboro has a different policy.
“A lot of times gift bags and gift wrap have layers of foil or plastic, and so just to kind of make it easy for everyone we just say a blanket “no” to that wrapping paper, so that must go in your garbage can,” said Tori Carle, waste reduction supervisor for the City of Greensboro.
Plastic bags cannot be recycled.
To review each city’s recycling guidelines, visit the links below.
