Star Tribune
Is wrapping paper recyclable? Your holiday trash and recycling questions, answered
Christmas is over — and in its wake has left a lot of debris.
From a mountain of wrapping paper to broken string lights, holiday cards and Christmas trees, the holiday aftermath raises many questions for well-intentioned Minnesotans: what is trash, and what can be recycled?
The answer isn’t always straightforward, which can lead to a lot of “wish-cycling” — throwing something in the recycling bin because you hope it’s the right thing to do, whether it actually is or not. Often, it’s not.
“It’s just kind of giving it a longer route to end up in the trash,” said Alisa Reckinger, communications and outreach specialist for Hennepin County’s Environment and Energy Department. “And kind of making the whole recycling system a little less efficient overall as well, potentially making the things that are actually recyclable harder to get to the point where you can recycle them.”
While handling the basics, like paper and plastic, is fairly consistent, how to properly dispose of other items may vary depending on where you live. For more information, consult your city and/or trash and recycling hauler.
Here’s a look at the right thing to do with common holiday detritus.
Wrapping paper
It’s trash. Unless it’s relatively plain, like brown paper and newsprint, and you dispose of it by folding it — not balling it up — so the recycling sorting machines identify it as paper.
“When you get a big ball of paper, the machine might not recognize it,” Reckinger said. While the paper shouldn’t be covered in tape, a little is generally OK.
There are a couple issues here: One, wrapping paper is often covered in foil and glitter. “Those additives make it so that it’s not easily recyclable,” Reckinger said.
Two, more traditional wrapping paper tends to be low-quality paper covered in dye. “It’s just not real high-quality, and so that also makes it challenging to recycle,” she said.
Tissue paper
If it’s done for, trash. Like many wrapping papers, tissue paper is low-quality and often full of dye.
But a better option is to find a way to reuse it, said Andrea McKennan, outreach and engagement supervisor with Ramsey County Environmental Health.
“If it’s not ripped or really wrinkled up, I fold it up and save it,” she said. “Or use it to wrap up your ornaments if you’re taking down a Christmas tree.”
Real Christmas trees and greenery
It depends on where you live, so consult your city and/or trash hauler.
In Ramsey County, you can drop off your tree at some county yard waste sites. Other cities and counties may have similar options. Ramsey County doesn’t accept flocked trees, but some facilities do.
Ramsey County encourages residents to dispose of Christmas trees in a “timely manner,” rather than burn them or leave them in the backyard, because invasive pests might be hiding out on them.
In both Minneapolis and St. Paul, you can put a tree less than 6 feet tall next to your garbage cart for pick-up.
Obviously, remove lights and ornaments before disposing of trees in any fashion.
When it comes to other greenery such as wreaths and garlands, it’s best to check: many yard waste facilities don’t accept them because they often come with wires and metal.
String lights
Recycle them — but not in your cart at home. If you put them in your cart, you run the risk of being on your recycler’s naughty list. That’s because string lights belong to a family of objects that Reckinger called “tanglers.”
“Tanglers do exactly what they sound like they do — they get tangled up in the equipment at those recycling facilities,” Reckinger said. Often they have to be disentangled by hand.
Ideally, you should repair string lights and use them as long as you can. When you’re done with them, many counties, including Hennepin and Ramsey, will accept them at reuse centers. The wires can be stripped out and recycled.
Many retailers also collect old string lights for recycling. The Recycling Association of Minnesota has a list of locations around the state here: https://recycleminnesota.org/recycle-your-holidays/.
Holiday cards
Throw away or recycle? It depends. If the card is made of photo paper, or has glitter, foil or ribbons on it, throw it in the trash. If it’s plain card stock, you can recycle, Reckinger said.
Batteries and electronics
Recycle — and do it at the right drop-off facility. If you take batteries to a drop-off site, not only will the reusable materials they contain be recycled, you can also avoid potentially causing a fire at a waste facility.
If recycling electronics is a possible where you live, it’s a good option to choose, McKennan said. In Ramsey County, electronics can be recycled through a partnership with Repowered.
“Computers, gaming consoles, TVs, phones with batteries — all of that can go there for recycling or refurbishment,” she said. “They’ll wipe the data and then if the item is still good, they’ll get it back out into the community.”
Toy packaging
It depends. Paper and plastic packaging are generally recyclable. When they’re combined and you can separate the paper from the plastic, recycle the paper, McKennan said.
If the plastic has a number on it that’s recyclable in your area, you can recycle it. If not — and that’s usually the case — throw it in the trash, she said. Same goes for styrofoam.
Think ahead
If all this has you feeling bad about how much trash you generated over the holidays, Reckinger said now is a great time to think ahead about how to be more sustainable. Gift boxes, reusable gift bags, bows and cloth wrapping paper are all great ways to send less, not more, to the landfill.
“Start to set that intention now because it’ll make it easier when we get back into the rush of the holiday season next year to already have a plan,” she said.
Star Tribune
Release of hazardous materials forces closing of highway in southeast Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
Star Tribune
Civil suit against MN state trooper who shot Ricky Cobb II is dismissed
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.
Star Tribune
Donald Trump boards a garbage truck to draw attention to Biden remark
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Donald Trump walked down the steps of the Boeing 757 that bears his name, walked across a rain-soaked tarmac and, after twice missing the handle, climbed into the passenger seat of a white garbage truck that also carried his name.
The former president, once a reality TV star known for his showmanship, wanted to draw attention to a remark made a day earlier by his successor, Democratic President Joe Biden, that suggested Trump’s supporters were garbage. Trump has used the remark as a cudgel against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
”How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump said, wearing an orange and yellow safety vest over his white dress shirt and red tie. ”This is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.”
Trump and other Republicans were facing pushback of their own for comments by a comedian at a weekend Trump rally who disparaged Puerto Rico as a ”floating island of garbage.” Trump then seized on a comment Biden made on a late Wednesday call that “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”
The president tried to clarify the comment afterward, saying he had intended to say Trump’s demonization of Latinos was unconscionable. But it was too late.
On Thursday, after arriving in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for an evening rally, Trump climbed into the garbage truck, carrying on a brief discussion with reporters while looking out the window — similar to what he did earlier this month during a photo opportunity he staged at a Pennsylvania McDonalds.
He again tried to distance himself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose joke had set off the firestorm, but Trump did not denounce it. He also said he did not need to apologize to Puerto Ricans.
”I don’t know anything about the comedian,” Trump said. ”I don’t know who he is. I’ve never seen him. I heard he made a statement, but it was a statement that he made. He’s a comedian, what can I tell you. I know nothing about him.”