(Dec. 2013) For the 23rd year, holiday gift wrap will be accepted for recycling in Oneida and Herkimer Counties. To recycle holiday gift wrap, fold or flatten the gift wrap and place it loosely in your recycling container. Do not put gift wrap or recyclable material in plastic bags. Please do not recycle foil or metallic wrapping paper or metallic ribbon or tape. Wrapping paper will only be accepted during the two weeks after Christmas. Cardboard tubes from gift wrap may also be placed in your recycling container. Always consider reusing wrapping paper before disposal.
Holiday greeting cards may also be recycled. Each year, 2.65 billion holiday cards are sold in the United States. That is enough to fill a football field ten stories high. Place your greeting cards, catalogs, gift boxes and other recyclable paper in with your regular recyclables. These items can be recycled all year long. Styrofoam and packing peanuts are not recyclable and foam items should be placed with your regular trash.
Holiday lights should be stored for use again next year. If they are broken or unwanted, they cannot be placed in your recycling bin. The CNY Veterans Outreach is accepting donations of old Christmas lights this holiday season. The lights will be recycled and proceeds will go toward the construction of housing units for homeless Veterans. The Veterans Outreach Center is located at 726 Washington Street in Utica and is open Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM for drop offs. To schedule a large pickup of lights, call 765-0975. You may also deliver Christmas lights to the Utica Residential Convenience Station on Leland Ave during normal business hours for proper recycling at no charge, or dispose of them with your regular trash.
For more information regarding recycling and waste disposal, please visit www.ohswa.org or call the Authority’s Main Office at 733-1224. You can also visit the Facebook page—Oneida Herkimer Solid Waste Authority—to ask questions and find more information on these topics.