DAVENPORT, Iowa — 'Tis the season for gift giving, which as we know, leaves behind a lot of recycling materials like wrapping paper and cardboard boxes, and you may not know what to do with it all.
The Waste Commission of Scott County says when it doubt, throw it in the garbage.
Waste Commission of Scott County Communications Coordinator Rachel Evans said a mistake a lot of people make is recycling plastic bags. Those are recyclable, but only at recyclable retailers, like your local grocery stores.
"Sometimes recycling something that's not recyclable can be really dangerous," Evans said. "In the example of batteries, that could cause a fire in the collection truck, it could cause a fire here at our facility. So, it's very dangerous for our staff in the community to have those fires."
The American Forest and Paper Association says the holidays is a reminder to avoid what's known as "wishcycling." This is putting something in your recycling bin in hope that someone, somewhere will figure out what to do with it along the way.
"Recycling right helps the product that we sell be better," Evans said. "So, we want a pure, we want a high quality paper that's leaving our facility and getting recycled further. So, following those rules about glitter and metallic foil helps us get the best product here."
According to the AF&PA, incorrectly disposing of holiday products can hinder the recycling process, by contaminating recyclable items, which can be made into new paper products.
You can drop off your recyclable items free of charge, during daytime hours at the Scott Area Recycling Center. For location and hours of operation click/tap here.
Waste Commission of Scott County says overall in the U.S., trash and recycling increases 25% per household over the holidays. You can also get more tips on Holiday recycling from the AF&PA by clicking/tapping here.
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