Recycling and waste reduction for all seasons

Winter holidays

Reduce waste and save money this holiday season

Giving and sharing during the holiday season can add up to additional waste with extra gift wrap, packaging, disposable dishes, leftover food and more. But we can make small changes in some of our holiday habits to keep recycling and trash workers safe, reduce waste and save money.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the volume of household waste increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. That's about 1 million extra tons sent to landfills across the country each year. You can recycle or compost some holiday waste. But some items should stay out of your recycling bin or cart because they can harm workers and damage equipment.

Consider these suggestions to prevent and manage that extra waste this holiday season.

Shopping and gift wrapping

To save money and reduce waste, you can:

• Bring your own reusable bags when you go out to shop for gifts or groceries.
• Look for presents made locally. In general, local products reduce energy costs and greenhouse gases because they don't need to be shipped long distances.
• Get creative with finding items to reuse as gift wrap, like newspaper, old maps or posters.  Even brown paper bags can be festive if decorated with stamps, drawings or colorful ribbons.
• Consider rechargeable batteries for holiday gifts requiring battery power.
• Buy items made with recycled materials or consider the gift of an experience, such as admission to a museum or a state park pass.

Holiday cleanup

The mess of packaging, wrapping paper, food and more can be overwhelming after a holiday gathering. But it doesn’t have to be! Here are tips to help you attack the clutter with a plan.

Items to put in your recycling bin or cart

• Bottles and cans made of plastic, glass or metal. Make sure they are empty, and don’t crush them. Equipment at most recycling facilities works best if bottles and cans are three-dimensional.
• Cardboard. Flatten boxes so they can be handled properly by recycling equipment.
• Newspaper, magazines, office paper, junk mail, paperboard boxes and similar paper.

Check with the local community to find out if they accept these items in their carts or bins:

• plastic tubs;
• aluminum foil and pie plates;
• paper cartons and cups; and
• wrapping paper that can be torn and doesn't have glitter, foil or other adornments.

Keep in mind that what you can recycle at a friend’s or relative’s may be different than what you can recycle at your own home.

What not to put in recycling bins or carts

If you aren't sure whether something can be recycled, it's best to throw it out. The following items cause significant problems at facilities that process household recyclables and should not be placed in recycling bins or carts. However, many of these items can be recycled at drop-off locations.

In addition, keep in mind the following:

• Used paper plates and straws are not recyclable because the paper is soiled.
• Plastic cutlery and plates are not recyclable due to their shape.
• Foam packaging and packing peanuts cannot go in recycling bins or carts, though some communities may accept them at drop-off sites.
• Plastic packaging that is not a bottle, tub or lid is generally not recyclable, including hard plastic packaging around electronics or toys.
• Tissue paper and most wrapping paper is not recyclable and can contaminate recyclable paper. Unless your local program says it can accept certain types of wrapping paper, either save tissue and wrapping paper for reuse or put it in the trash.

Holiday food waste

The organization ReFED estimates that on Thanksgiving alone, 316 million pounds of food is wasted in the United States. This represents more than $556 million of groceries thrown away in a single day. When this wasted food decomposes in landfills, it will release nearly 5,000 metric tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This is similar to what’s emitted by powering 26,000 homes’ electricity for a year.

Here are some tips to prevent and reduce food waste at home:

• Understand date labels and when food items are actually unsafe. Date labels are NOT regulated by federal or state law and do not indicate food safety, with the exception of infant formula. Manufacturers provide dating to help consumers and retailers decide when food is of peak quality. Relying on your eyes and an old-fashioned sniff test can be a better indicator of whether food is good to eat and help you avoid disposing of healthy and safe food.
• Shop with a plan and prepare for gatherings. Take inventory of what you already have, plan meals and making detailed shopping lists. Save the Food’s free portion planner, The Guest-imator, can help you estimate how much you need to prepare for gatherings. You can spread the leftover love by having containers on hand to send guests home with their favorites.
• Store food to extend its life. Proper food storage can reduce waste and save the time and money associated with additional grocery store runs. Save the Food's Store It Guide gives ideas on how to organize your fridge and offers tips and tricks for storing food.
• Freeze before you toss. Consider popping your holiday leftovers and surplus ingredients in the freezer before it’s too late. Freezing food is like hitting the pause button and preserves the food until you are ready to eat it. 

For more tips and resources for preventing food waste, visit our Reducing Food Waste at Home page.

Additional tips and resources to prevent and reduce waste

• At holiday parties, use washable plates, cups, silverware, tablecloths and napkins instead of disposables to save resources. If you need to use disposable, don’t pay extra for products labeled “compostable” unless you are able to send the waste to a commercial composting facility that can handle the material. Compostable products are not beneficial if landfilled and typically don’t break down in home compost bins.
• Save bows, gift boxes and gift bags to use again. Recycle boxes that are torn or no longer usable.
• For unrecyclable wrapping paper that you don't plan to reuse, put it in the trash instead of burning it. The dyes, inks and coatings used in paper have changed over time and can release toxins when burned. Learn more about the environmental and health impacts of open burning.
• Recycle plain paper greeting cards (no glitter, sequins, batteries, etc.) and envelopes (photo paper can’t be recycled). Or get creative and make the cards into postcards or gift tags for next year.
• Put cut trees in a corner of the yard to provide winter cover for rabbits and birds. In the spring, chip the tree and use it for mulch.

For additional ideas that kids can do to help green the holidays, visit EEK! Environmental Education for Kids! Trash to Treasures for the Holidays [exit DNR].

Fall yard care

Fall yard care

That swish and crunch of autumn leaves underfoot is the sound of opportunity. Mulching leaves and composting yard materials allow residents to protect the state's air quality and public health, reduce costs for local governments and households and relieve communities and the environment of the hazards of burning. A growing number of communities have local rules in place that further restrict or completely prohibit burning yard materials.

• DNR's Can I Burn? Tool

Using leaves for mulch and compost can also enrich the health of lawns and gardens, save money on fertilizer and save municipalities money on yard waste collection. Try one of the following easy methods to manage leaves, branches, grass clippings and other yard trimmings.

Home composting

If you would rather compost your leaves, there are many easy structures you can build to start a compost pile. Be sure to maintain a mix of "browns" (fallen leaves, dead plants, coffee grounds and small branches) and "greens" (grass clippings, green plants and food scraps). Finished compost can be sprinkled into lawn soil or used in a garden to provide organic material and nutrients. Ultimately, this builds soil organic content and reduces the need for fertilizers.

• Home Composting: The Complete Composter (WA-182)
• Home Composting Materials (WA-1785)

Mulching leaves in place

Leaves are rich in carbon, phosphorus and potassium – all essential nutrients needed by plants, including turf grasses. Mow leaves along with the grass during fall and leave the finely chopped material on your lawn. Another option is to rake up the leaf pieces and use them as winter ground cover for gardens and around trees and shrubs. This will help insulate plants and protect them from winter freeze damage.

Keep leaves handy for next season

Dry leaves keep well in plastic bags. Many people keep a few bags of leaves from the fall to add "browns" to their compost piles throughout the year. You can also use your stored leaves for mulch. In the spring, spread them on your garden and around trees and shrubs to save on the cost of buying new mulch.

Green moving

Green your move

Whether it's the big apartment switchover in a college town or a job opportunity that sends a family to a new community, moving means dealing with—and often throwing out—a lot of stuff.

Although some waste is to be expected with moving, there are simple steps that can help reduce the amount of stuff thrown away.

Planning your move

A little planning can save a lot of time and money in the long run. Sorting through belongings ahead of a move allows time to sell items online or through a yard sale, donate or take them to a collection site or event. Contact donation centers and collection sites for a list of what they accept and give new life to items that would otherwise be thrown away.

Many colleges and universities sponsor waste reduction or swap programs during move-out, providing opportunities to recycle carpets, electronics and other large or bulky items. Students can return or sell old textbooks for other students to use and avoid sending them to a landfill.

Community garbage and recycling programs may have special requirements for disposing of large items such as mattresses and furniture. In areas where many people move at once, checking if there is a change in schedule or rules for the big move-out day could help a move go smoother.

Items to recycle, donate or sell

Learning what can be recycled, donated or sold is a great first step to decluttering. In Wisconsin, certain items are banned from landfills and incinerators, which means they can’t go into the trash.

• What to recycle in Wisconsin
• Full list of items banned from Wisconsin landfills and incinerators [PDF]
• Tips for e-cycling and recycling in Wisconsin [PDF]

Items to put in your recycling bin or cart

• Bottles and cans made of plastic, glass or metal. Make sure they are empty, and don’t crush them. Equipment at most recycling facilities works best if bottles and cans are three-dimensional.
• Cardboard. Flatten boxes so they can be handled properly by recycling equipment.
• Newspaper, magazines, office paper, junk mail, paperboard boxes and similar paper.

Check with the local community to find out if they accept additional items in their carts or bins, such as plastic tubs, aluminum foil and pie plates, and paper cartons and cups..

What not to put in recycling bins or carts

If you aren't sure whether something can be recycled, it's best to throw it out. The following items cause significant problems at facilities that process household recyclables and should not be placed in recycling bins or carts. Many of these items can be recycled at drop-off locations.

Chemicals and other household hazardous waste

Another common spring cleaning task is getting rid of unused chemicals and other household hazardous waste in the home, storage shed or garage. Using up a known product is often the simplest solution. Unknown substances should be taken to a household hazardous waste collection site or event. Clean Sweep events provide an opportunity to safely dispose of household hazardous waste, and they usually occur during the spring and through the fall.

• Learn more about household hazardous waste management

Household pharmaceuticals and sharps

Taking drugs to a collection site instead of flushing them down a drain ensures they stay out of the environment. The Wisconsin Department of Justice hosts a spring Drug Take Back Day, which includes hundreds of collection sites where Wisconsin residents can safely dispose of controlled and uncontrolled substances, over-the-counter medications, ointments, patches, creams, non-aerosol sprays, vials and pet medications.

• Learn more about household pharmaceutical waste
• Dose of Reality drug take back locations [exit DNR]

Need to get rid of sharps like needles, lancets and syringes? The DNR has information on how to properly manage sharps and an interactive map of sharps collection stations.

• How to manage household medical sharps
• Map of registered sharps collection stations in Wisconsin

Reducing waste during a move

Reusing boxes from previous moves or asking retailers for used boxes reduces waste and saves money. Moving companies may have reusable materials to secure and protect larger items.

Certain packing materials are more easily recycled than others. Newspaper and cardboard can be used to protect breakable items and are recyclable anywhere in Wisconsin. Styrofoam and packing peanuts can be saved for the next move or given to friends for reuse. Plastic film, bags and wrap as well as Styrofoam are generally not recyclable through curbside recycling services. 

When furnishing a new home, some people purchase gently used furniture, plates, silverware and other household items to reduce the need for new materials and save money.

Home remodeling

Home remodeling for residents

Adding a new deck? Slapping on a new coat of paint? Finally, fixing the roof? When improving your home, you can reduce, reuse and recycle, saving money and protecting the environment as well.

Make a plan

Before you begin a house project, consult the DNR's step-by-step checklist for evaluating hazards, keeping your home and family safe and providing recycling and waste disposal options. Although the checklist is geared toward commercial and industrial projects, it still provides helpful information for homeowners.

• Planning Your Demolition or Renovation Project [PDF],
• Planificación de Su Proyecto de Demolición o Renovación [PDF]
• More information on construction, demolition and renovation

Conserve paints and stains

The easiest way to avoid wasting paint is by purchasing only as much as you need for the job. If you have leftover paint, find a use for it in other projects or share it with a neighbor. Paint and stain outdoors with dark colors that will not need excessive cleaning or re-coating over the years.

Dispose of leftover materials safely

Check product labels to see if you are using hazardous materials and be sure to store them safely, reuse them when able and dispose of them properly. Water-based and latex paints are generally non-toxic but should be air-dried (or mixed with an absorbent like kitty litter) until solid before being placed in the trash. Solvent-based or oil-based paints are toxic and flammable and can contaminate drinking water if disposed of improperly. They should be treated as hazardous waste.

• DNR household hazardous waste management guide

Recycle asphalt shingles

If you are re-roofing a house, you may be able to recycle your asphalt shingles. Check with your roofing contractor to see if they will recycle shingles. Recycled shingles can be used in road repairs and kept out of landfills.

• Recycling residential asphalt shingles

Reuse or donate materials and fixtures

When possible, preserve doors, wood, light and bathroom fixtures, cabinets and other items in good condition that can be reused. Organizations like Habitat ReStore accept these items for reuse in-home and other building projects. Other businesses accept scrap wood, metal, carpeting and other products for recycling.