

Otherwise they take up so much room in the recycling trucks that they have to make extra trips, requiring more energy and eating up all the net good recycling would have done in the first place. The most important thing when recycling boxes is simply to break them down flat. retail sales, according to the Department of Commerce. All those sales mean more individual boxes being shipping to customers’ homes - and in turn more boxes that need recycling.Ĭardboard is a great material to recycle because it’s clean, easy to reprocess and every ton of it that's reclaimed saves 17 trees, said Reed. Online purchases now make up 9.1% of all U.S. To fix the problem "the facility then needs to shut down all the equipment so they can get in and cut out all the junk that has wrapped around the shafts holding the discs,” said Peter Spendelow, a materials management specialist for Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality. Over the space of just a few hours, the gaps between the discs can fill up until the smaller items that were supposed to fall through the spaces no longer can. It's kind of like hair wrapping around the roller brush of a vacuum cleaner. Unfortunately, ribbons (as well as plastic bags, twine and anything else that’s long and stringy) end up wrapping around the spinning shafts that hold the discs. Ribbons, on the other hand, are insidious.įacilities that accept commingled recyclables and sort out the cardboard use a large piece of equipment called disc screens, or sets of spinning discs with spaces in between. Large flat items like cardboard are carried up and over the screen, while smaller items fall through the spaces between the discs. You wouldn't think shiny curls of ribbon would strike fear into the heart of recycling plant managers, but they do.Ī bow can go through the entire system and be screened out by the pulping equipment.

Here's how recycling experts say is the right way to clean up from Christmas. If China takes less of America's used paper, our trash rates will likely rise, since selling that waste often subsidizes the cost of our neighborhood pick-up. "They've starting getting more rigorous, even tearing open bales at customs," said Chaz Miller, policy director for the National Waste & Recycling Association. 1, China is setting new limits on the contamination it will allow in the mixed paper bales American trash companies ship there for recycling. It turns out that the glue on bows, the glitter dusting your fancy wrapping paper, and miles of ribbons - not to mention dirty pizza boxes and plastic grocery bags - clog the process of turning waste paper into new paper and cardboard.
#Christmas wrapping paper cracked#
trash companies are increasingly having to send what would have been waste-paper recycling to landfills after China cracked down on Americans' sloppy recycling habits. There's more to recycling your Christmas paper than stuffing everything into a big blue bin. With designs from florals to bunnies to pumpkins, there’s something for every occasion.Watch Video: Don't recycle this holiday gift wrap Gift bags of all sizes are available for giftees ranging from pets to parents. For lovely last-minute gift wrapping, decorative gift bags and gift boxes couldn't be easier. Stay on top of birthdays and weddings by stocking up on wrapping paper featuring Paper Source artwork. Make your holidays extra festive with our vast assortment of Christmas and Hanukkah wrapping paper that ranges from cute critters to beautiful gold accents. If you’re looking for something eco-friendly, stone wrapping papers are a high-quality option - made from stone! Our handmade gift wrap category includes beautiful marble design handmade papers from Nepal amongst other luxurious imported fine papers for a truly unique look. Add gift tags and colorful ribbon to your gift to give it a personal flourish.Ĭhoose from our unique collection of wrapping paper ranging from classic solid color wraps. Put your finishing touches on a carefully chosen gift with a satin bow or show your giftee just how much care you put into their gift by wrapping it up with matching tissue paper. Craft the perfect gift by using our wide variety of gift wrap and gift wrap accessories.

Thoughtful gifts deserve special gift wrap.
