During the holiday season it’s easy to get caught up and before you know it you end up with boxes of waste and recycling. 

Whether it’s prepping for holiday parties, decorating our homes, or finding gifts there are easy ways you can avoid the extra waste.

• Manage your cardboard and fully squash all boxes from deliveries and packages. You can dispose of this cardboard in your recycling bin or at one of our drop-off points if you have too much.
• Give the gift of experience. Movies, day spas, hot air balloon trips, courses, classes, memberships, restaurant vouchers support the local economy while making memories instead of waste.
• Wrap with what you already own. Each year, we use more than 150,000 kilometres of wrapping paper at Christmas, enough to wrap around the Earth’s equator almost four times. To avoid waste you can re-purpose paper, gift bags, or newspaper. Instead of plastic sticky tape, you can use twine, ribbons or glue.
• Avoid excess food waste wherever you can. Get meal planning, eat what you already have, be realistic with portions and write a shopping list. These simple actions will help minimise the amount of delicious food you may have to throw away.
• Share leftovers food with your guests. Use reusable containers and beeswax cotton wraps so leftovers can last longer and be enjoyed the next day.

Every little bit you do will save you a headache after the holidays.

And good news, as Christmas falls on a Saturday this year there will be no impact to your normal waste pickups.

If you do find yourself with any unwanted items this holiday season, you can drop off high quality goods at our drop off points.

Learn more about what you can drop off here.