What to do with
Christmas decorations & packaging
Most of us recycle lots during and after Christmas but are we getting it right?
Visit the pages listed below to find out more about what can and can't be recycled over the festive season.
Christmas trees
'Real' Christmas trees can be recycled and turned into chippings for parks. Some local authorities have special collections or organise drop-off points. Otherwise they can be taken to your household waste recycling centre.
More about recycling Christmas trees
Remember to remove all tinsel and decorations and any pots or stands.
Christmas tree recycling tips
Christmas cards
Most cards are paper based and can be recycled, along with their envelopes, either in your home recycling collection, at local recycling points such as household waste recycling centres or at banks in supermarket car parks etc.
More about recycling Christmas cards
Any extras such as ribbons, glitter or bows cannot be recycled and need to be removed by tearing off that part of the card.
Christmas card recycling tips
Christmas decorations
Baubles
Glass baubles are not recyclable. Broken glass baubles should be disposed of by wrapping and putting in with general waste.
Plastic baubles are usually made from types of plastic not widely collected yet in the UK and are likely to be covered with glitter which would impact on the recycling process so should also go in the general waste.
Tinsel
Tinsel cannot be recycled. If your tinsel has finally lost its sparkle and needs to be thrown away please dispose of it in your rubbish bin.
Wreaths
Natural materials on wreaths, such as ivy, fir cones, mistletoe and holly, can be composted as long as they are not covered with excessive glitter. Simply remove the greenery from the base and add to your garden/green waste collection, or drop at your local household waste recycling centre. Artificial decorations such as ribbons and plastic flowers will need to be removed as these cannot be recycled.
Unwanted decorations in good condition can be donated to charity shops for re-sale and re-use.
Christmas decorations recycling tips
Christmas tree lights
Fairy lights can be recycled at household waste recycling centres. Some local authorities collect small electricals as part of their recycling collections and may also provide collection bins at other sites too, e.g. at supermarkets.
More about recycling Christmas tree lights
Any item with a plug or that uses batteries is classed as WEEE - Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. These items must not be sent to landfill but disposed of at designated sites such as household waste recycling centres.
Christmas tree lights recycling tips
Wrapping paper
Due to the make-up of wrapping paper and the amount of sticky tape and embellishments that cause problems at recycling plants, some local authorities do not accept wrapping paper for recycling - see below for more.
More about recycling wrapping paper
Do the scrunch test! If your local authority does collect wrapping paper for recycling, only non-foil paper will be accepted. To check, scrunch up the paper and if it doesn't spring back it is non-foil and can be recycled.
Wrapping paper recycling tips
Cardboard
If you've ordered goods online this Christmas, it's likely your items were delivered in boxes or envelopes made from corrugated cardboard which is widely recycled by local authorities.
More about recycling cardboard
Remember to remove any plastic or polystyrene inserts and excess sticky tape from cardboard boxes before recycling.
Cardboard recycling tips
Batteries
All those new toys and gadgets mean more batteries to recycle. Some local authorities collect batteries bagged separately with household recycling but there are also many battery recycling points in shops around town.
More about recycling batteries
Shops selling more than 32kg of batteries a year (approx 345 x four-packs of AA batteries) are required to provide battery recycling collection facilities in-store. This means there are now lots more places where you can take your old batteries for recycling.
Battery recycling tips
Find out what you can recycle at home