Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
WEST VALLEY CITY — As Christmas cleanup gets underway, you likely have piles of gift wrapping in the corner that needs to go or a live Christmas tree that needs to be taken down.
Perhaps, even both.
A lot of how Christmas is packaged is recyclable.
By pulling things out of the waste stream, the number of items that would be going to the landfill is reduced.
From all those gifts under the tree to the tree itself, Dan Johnson, public works director for West Valley City, said a lot of waste is created as a result of the holidays.
"Christmas generates a lot of waste and certain things are recyclable and certain things are not," he said.
Johnson said not all things need to be taken to the trash.
"Cardboard boxes are certainly recyclable and most wrapping papers are as well," he said.
However, not everything is recyclable.
"Glitter's a no-go, ribbon, and Styrofoam is a no-go; things like that," Johnson said.
Drop off locations
Beginning Friday and running through next week, Johnson said there are two collection sites in West Valley City where community members can drop off live Christmas trees — West View Park and City Park.
If you are unable to make it to either location, there are also other options.
"In West Valley City, we have a bulky waste pickup program that every property is designated a specific date in the month when they can leave bulky waste items at their curbside. If they choose to use that program, they would just need to cut up their tree into small enough pieces," Johnson said.
If you are unsure whether something is recyclable, Johnson said it is best to throw it away. That way, there's no chance of a nonrecyclable item working its way into the recyclable system.
