Can you recycle Christmas wrapping paper, bows and tissues? What to know

Tips on how to properly recycle, compost and reuse common holiday waste, such as wrapping paper, boxes and plastic, that is often thrown into the trash.

The presents have all been opened, leaving behind a mountain of crumpled wrapping paper, ribbons, tape and cardboard boxes. But what’s the most eco-friendly way to dispose of or recycle all this post-Christmas packaging?

Every year, 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper — the equivalent of the weight of 100,000 elephants or 4.5 CN Towers — end up in Canadian landfills following the holidays, according to environmental group Zero Waste Canada.

And much of that holiday waste that ends up in the trash could have been recycled, composted or reused, explained Charlotte Ueta, the director of policy, planning and outreach of the City of Toronto’s solid waste management services.

“We often see a slight increase in the amount of waste that is generated or thrown out over the holidays. So generally around December and January, we see an increase of waste,” she said.

Toronto is one of the many Canadian cities encouraging people to properly dispose of and reduce the amount of waste they generate during the holidays.

Here are some tips to help manage holiday waste.

Recycling holiday wrapping paper and tissue paper depends on the type of material, Ueta said.

“Typically any material that you’d find, especially with a lot of shipping, a lot of materials that could be recycled. So for example, boxes, non-metallic gift wrapping paper and tissue paper are some materials that are increased over the holiday season that can be recycled,” she said.