Recycle Your Holiday Wrapping Paper

Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority, said gift wrap, including tissue paper, is acceptable in Morris County’s recycling programs.

“During the holidays, the amount of trash that haulers collect increases dramatically,” Jones said.  “Much of that is gift wrap and packaging that can be reused or recycled rather than be put into in the trash.”

Jones suggested saving and reusing bows as well as bubble wrap and clean dry styrofoam packing peanuts. Also, packing peanuts and bubble wrap can be taken to Mail Boxes Etc., the UPS Store or similar retailers for reuse.  To find the closest store, visit the Plastic Loosefill Council's

website, www.loosefillpackaging.com, or call the "Peanut" Hotline at 1-800-828-2214 or check the Yellow Pages.

With visiting relatives, you probably have many other recyclables. Corrugated cardboard cartons, pre-holiday catalogs and gift boxes should also be recycled, as should glass bottles, plastic containers that are acceptable in your municipality, aluminum beverage cans and steel food cans from holiday gatherings.  Same goes for newspapers, magazines and junk mail.

If cardboard boxes are too large to fit into a curbside recycling bin, they should be flattened, folded and stacked inside one cardboard box and placed next to the recycling bin, Jones said.

Some municipalities accept Christmas light strings that no longer at their drop-off sites, but not at curbside, so contact town hall to ask into which container at the drop-off site the lights should be deposited, Jones said.

MCMUA is also now accepting new items for recycling in the communities that have contracts with curbside collection of recyclables, Jones said. Check with town hall or visit the Morris County MUA website, www.mcmua.com for more information.