Oh my! How did I not know this before? WRAPPING PAPER IS NOT RECYCLABLE!! Every year, we throw ridiculously overstuffed bags of wrapping paper in the recycle bin. (Which brings me to a totally random piece of information I feel obligated to share–do not throw materials that are not recyclable in the recycle bin. If you’re not sure, throw it away. Too many non-recyclables in a load can mean that the whole thing will not be recycled. No one is going to walk through the recycling plant pulling out your Silk cartons that you thought were recyclable.)
I do not know stats but just the thought of the majority of American households throwing away gobs and gobs of balled up wrapping paper every holiday sickens me. I realize that opening a package brings a certain amount of suspense and joy but at what cost?
I have vowed never to buy more holiday wrapping paper in our home. I will finish using what I have and continue to reuse giftbags given to us. But from this point on, I will be wrapping our gifts in recycable papers only. I have tons of white paper used to pad breakables from stores like Crate and Barrel. I think clean white will look nice. Or I can have my child color on them. My in-laws often wrap gifts in newspaper or old maps they no longer need. Another family member of mine does little wrapping–all of Santa’s gifts arrive at the foot of the fireplace on Christmas morning unwrapped. One last option can be found at a great website called reusablebags.com–cloth gift bags.
Posted by Andrea on December 5, 2008 at 9:32 am
Silk cartons are NOT recyclable??
Posted by Sophia on December 5, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Well, my understanding is that they can be recycled but separating the individual components is difficult and many areas are not equipped to do that. My city does not recycle these cartons (from their recycling website: “NO foil coated paperboard. NO paper milk or juice cartons. “)
Silk’s website says their cartons are recyclable after removing the plastic cap (http://www.silksoymilk.com/FAQ.aspx#AL-36) so it’s best to check your local area.
Posted by Leigh on December 6, 2008 at 9:28 pm
My grandma uses newspaper and wraps with twine. For kids’ presents she uses the comic sections!
Posted by jimmy on December 7, 2008 at 9:11 am
There is recyclable wrapping paper out there, like this: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/09/fish_lips.php . . . so if you still want to have pretty paper to wrap presents, it looks like it is possible to do it in a more eco way.