The holidays often come with a lot of stuff — a lot of food, a lot of events, a lot of presents and potentially a lot of waste.
If you’re hoping to avoid shoving all of the remnants of your holiday merriment in the trash, here’s some guidance for Fort Collins residents on what you can do to reduce your waste: PE coated FBB
“Wrapping paper can be recycled in your curbside recycle bin” or at certain drop-off locations, according to the city of Fort Collins’ website.
The exceptions are metallic wrapping paper and paper that has glitter on it. You’ll have to throw those in the trash.
The same is true for tissue paper: Yes to recycling, unless it has glitter or metallic elements.
The city reminds residents to pull bows and ribbons off of wrapping and tissue paper before recycling.
Don’t dump these in the trash.
The city's Holiday Recycling Guide says these can be recycled. The city’s website lists several sites in Fort Collins that accept holiday lights, bulbs and all:
Before recycling, the city asks that light strands be tied or bundled up.
Paper and plastic plates, cups and bowls; plastic utensils and straws; and napkins and paper towels can’t be recycled in Fort Collins, according to the city’s website. All of these items should go in the trash.
“Paper plates, cups, and bowls are coated in plastic, which allows them to hold liquids and food, but also renders them unrecyclable,” according to the city's website.
The city site adds that the moisture associated with dirty napkins and paper towels can cause mold and therefore ruin recyclable materials it would be batched with.
And why not utensils and straws? “Because there are no markets to recycle them,” according to the city site.
Compostable doesn’t mean recyclable.
They shouldn’t go in your recycle bin, and they shouldn’t go in your backyard composting spot either.
“Backyard composting systems and other small residential composting systems do not get hot enough to break down compostable serving ware,” according to the city site.
These should be taken to a commercial composting site. If that's not an option for you, they go in the trash.
If you’re looking to reduce waste in this area, reusable plates, cups, etc., are your best bet.
Fort Collins lists the following drop-off locations:
The chairs are pushed back. The dishes are waiting to be washed. And you have a ton of leftover food to deal with.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has some steps hosts can take to help keep leftovers packed up and safe to eat after the festivities have ended, instead of throwing them out:
Store and reheat leftovers the right way
Foodsafety.gov has a handy chart for this. But in general for leftovers, the site says three to four days in the fridge. Check out the chart for more specific guidance on everything from eggnog to salad.
Colouring Paper Offset For additional tips on food safety for buffets and parties, visit the CDC’s website.