Broken, tangled or old holiday lights
Do not place unwanted lights in your recycle cart or container; they will tangle on sorting machinery at the recycling facility and create a hazard for workers. Instead, recycle them at Earth Friendly Recycling, E H Metal Recycling and at the Lacamas Lake Lowes.
Spread cheer. Many local thrift stores will accept lights that are in good working condition. Use RecycleRight for more information.
Holiday trees
Many options exist for recycling. In all cases, remove tinsel, lights, ornaments, wire, stands and other materials that are not part of the tree.
- Scout Troops often offer a curbside tree collection in early January. Watch for a door hanger notice with event details.
- Curbside organics subscribers can cut their Christmas tree to a maximum of 5 feet tall or wide. Cut down the tree into sections of 5 feet or less and place sections in the cart. If the organics cart is already full, subscribers can place their Christmas tree alongside their cart and have it collected as extra for an additional fee of $4.24.
- Garbage collectors will pick up flocked or artificial trees, up to 5 feet tall, for a fee of $9.64.
- Unflocked Christmas trees can also be recycled for a fee at the transfer stations, H & H Wood Recyclers, City Bark, McFarlane’s Bark and Triangle Resources. Prices vary, but they are generally in the $1 to $5 range.
Catalogs
Dismayed by a mailbox full of unwanted catalogs? Sign on to www.catalogchoice.org and opt out of the ones you don’t want to receive. The basic opt-out service is free–additional features are available for a fee.
Household batteries
Vancouver residents have a convenient recycling option for old alkaline, nickel cadmium (NiCad) and lithium household batteries; flashlight, hearing aid and rechargeable batteries. Just tape over the ends, place them in a sealable clear plastic bag, and place the bag on top of your recycling roll cart. Consider buying rechargeable batteries and a charger to accompany your electronic gifts to reduce the number of batteries that have to be discarded.
Cooking oil
Sure, that deep-fried turkey was moist and tasty. But what do you do with the oil now? Recycle it! Columbia Resource Company will accept up to five gallons of cooking oil per day per customer at their West Vancouver Material Recovery Center, Central Transfer and Recycling Center and Washougal Transfer Station during regular hours of operation. The used cooking oil is recycled.
Holiday foods
Your turkey, ham and other meats can easily be placed into your teal/green organics cart. Every-other-week curbside organics collection is available to City of Vancouver residents as an optional service. Food scraps, along with yard debris, can be put into the organics cart for handy curbside collection. You can dispose of produce, meats, bones, carcasses, cheese, bread, cereals, coffee grounds, eggshells and gourds. Email Waste Connections, customerservice2010@wcnx.org, and sign up today.
Computers and electronics
Recycle TVs, computers, monitors, laptops, tablets, e-readers and portable DVD players for free through E-Cycle Washington. Households, small businesses, schools and school districts, small governments, special purpose districts and charities can recycle electronic products free of charge using this program. Find a recycling drop-off location for your e-waste.
Packing peanuts
Packing peanuts are often accepted for reuse by local mailing businesses.
Wrapping and packaging
Cardboard boxes, printed gift-wrapping paper, mailing tubes and paper bags that cannot be used again next year may be flattened and placed in your blue recycle cart or container. Please do not include ribbons, bows, yarn, foil-coated wrapping, bubble wrap, plastic bags or foam packing. You can reduce the amount of discarded paper by utilizing reusable gift bags made of heavy paper or fabric or by making the wrapping part of the gift i.e., tablecloths, towels and storage containers.
Visit Clark County Green Neighbors for more resources to manage holiday waste: Did you know that in the U.S., annual trash from gift wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons?
