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With Christmas behind us and the New Year just days away, the Wisconsin DNR is offering tips to limit holiday waste.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the amount of household waste sees an increase of 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, which equates to approximately 1 million extra tons of waste sent to landfills.
This additional waste includes items such as additional waste with extra gift wrap, packaging, disposable dishes, and leftover food.
To cut down on holiday waste, the DNR suggests reusing things such as newspapers, old posters, or brown paper bags instead of regular wrapping paper.
Ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations, they also ask to reuse washable plates, cups, and silverware at parties to reduce the number of disposable items entering landfills.
Wisconsinites are also encouraged to check with local trash and recycling centers to see what is and is not allowed.
Drop-off locations usually do not accept loose plastic bags, light strings, and batteries to be recycled.
To help get rid of this holiday waste in Sheboygan, garbage and recycling trucks are parked at the city’s Recycling Center until Friday (January 3rd) so that residents can drop off items that may not fit in trash or recycling receptacles.
