‘Tis the season to be jolly glad you’ve got a composter.
Not only are your leftovers now breaking down in the bacteria cafeteria that is at the heart of your compost bin, but suitable wrapping paper and packaging can be added too. You may also have Christmas cards and perhaps a tree to recycle.
It all helps to reduce the gigantic waste mountain of the season and avoid scenes such as this, below, taken last year as general waste bins awaited post-Christmas collection. In the event of snow, those collections can be delayed even longer. Not a great way to start the New Year.
Keep in mind the following tips for composting and recycling your festive waste.
Can you compost bones?
Bones should not be added to composters but can be added to the Green Cone Food Waste Digester. However, we hear from some customers who add chicken carcasses to their Green Johanna and say the bones disappear completely; others say bones have been stripped down but are still visible in the finished compost and need to be removed.
Packaging
If you have a lot of packaging, save those cardboard pieces that have great air pockets for your composting.
If cardboard is being sent to be recycled, flatten any boxes to save space. Keep them dry as they can’t be recycled if they get wet and go mouldy.
Christmas cards
- Compost suitable cards to provide carbon content in your composter. Any cards decorated with glitter, foil, cellophane, plastic or anything laminated can’t be composted or recycled. Tear parts off that contain ribbons, glitter and foil but you can compost or recycle the plain paper and card.
- If recycling cards at supermarket drop-off points or household recycling sites, remember to remove any items that can’t be recycled, such as decorations mentioned above and batteries that might be in musical cards.
- Make gift tags: You don’t have to be creative to make gift tags from old cards – both Christmas cards and ordinary birthday cards – so you never have to buy them. Save string to use as tags. Or cut out images for children to make their own cards next year.
- Make banners or bunting (easy to store, put up and take down) or turn cards into mini calendars.
- Schools can recycle cards by showing children how to turn them into postcards for next Christmas or festive bookmarks.
Wrapping paper
- Compost suitable, unadorned wrapping paper.
- Remember the slogan ‘Scrunch it to sort it’. If your wrapping paper stays in a ball when you scrunch it up it can be recycled (providing it’s not covered in glitter). If it unfurls itself, it can’t.
- Try the tear test - if paper can be torn easily it's likely that it doesn't contain other materials so can be recycled.
- Remove plastic tape, but paper parcel tape and paper-based washi tapes can be recycled along with wrapping paper.
- Reuse – some wrapping paper, tissue paper and cardboard boxes can be used again, along with ribbons, bows and gift bags. Smooth paper out for reuse. It can also be used to line drawers.
Calendars
Some calendars contain images that are just too nice to simply throw away. Pictures that feature on arty calendars can be saved and framed as wall art.
Wreaths
Plant materials can be composted once any glue, plastic, glitter and wiring is removed. Holly is best shredded and used to make leaf mould separately.
