From WDNR - The holiday season, with all of its associated buying, wrapping and celebrating, substantially increases the amount of waste that we generate. The big question after the holidays are over is what to do with all of the waste. Here are some tips to help people save some time, effort and even money, while diverting waste from landfills. - Place cut "used" Christmas trees in yards to provide shelter for birds and small animals during cold and snowy conditions. Decorate them with popcorn or cranberry strands, suet cakes or a handmade birdfeeder.
- Turn trees into mulch to help make the garden nicer next summer. Recycle the trunk for firewood or split for kindling.
- Many communities collect trees and recycle them by chipping and using the mulch for landscaping. Find out when and where the tree collections days occur in your community and set your tree out for collection or drop-off. Remember to remove all decorations and tinsel and don't put the tree in a plastic bag.
- Don't burn trees in a wood burner or fireplace. Dry pine trees burn very quickly and generate considerable heat, along with hot cinders that can ignite your roof or creosote deposits in a chimney.
- Reuse or recycle greeting cards, boxes, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows. Paper, gift boxes and bows can be saved and reused. Holiday cards can be reused as postcards or gift tags.
- Cardboard, holiday cards and wrapping paper are often highly recyclable. Check with you local recycling program to see if these materials can be included with your recyclables collection, if you are not interested in reusing them.
- Resist the temptation to burn wrapping paper and boxes in a fireplace or wood burner, as they can create enough heat and burning cinders to cause a chimney fire or ignite flammable roof materials. Burning them also contributes to particle pollution and the inks that make the paper so attractive on a gift, as well as plastic and metallic wrap, can also give off toxic emissions when burned.
[http://mainegov-images.informe.org/spo/recycle/docs/HolidayReduction.pdf (26.4kb pdf)], and
