WISCONSIN — When you think of the holidays, you may think of food, gifts, and of course, family time. But with the holidays comes a lot of potential waste — wrapping paper, cardboard, food containers and more. 

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources lists what should and shouldn't go into your recycle bin, whether it's during the holidays or any other day of the year.

What Can Be Recycled

  • Cardboard – flatten boxes before putting them in carts or bins so that recycling equipment can handle them properly
  • Newspaper
  • Magazines
  • Office paper
  • Plastic No. 1 and No. 2 containers
  • Aluminum cans
  • Steel (tin) cans
  • Glass bottles and jars

For wrapping paper, it depends. If it can be torn and doesn't have any glitter, foil or other adornments, can be recycled in most places.

What Can't Be Recycled

  • Tissue paper
  • Holiday light strings, cords and other "tanglers"
    • If these go to modern recycling facilities, they usually get wrapped around equipment, causing a facility to shut down until workers get it removed. Some retailers, electronics recyclers and communities offer seasonal recycling programs for light strings. Put broken lights in the trash.
  • Plastic bags, plastic film and wrap
    • Same with lights, they can also get tangled in recycling equipment. Bagged recyclables can be problematic since workers don't know what's inside.  You can take many types of clean, dry plastic bags and wrap to store drop-off locations. Tips are listed on the DNR's recycling plastic bags webpage.
  • Batteries and electronics

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