Can You Recycle Wrapping Paper?

The one activity people look forward to during the holiday season is opening presents. Whether it’s a big pile of presents under the Christmas tree or simply a little box from your favourite person, unwrapping a gift is a joy for many. Well, at least until you have to clean up the following day.

Once people have gotten to the presents underneath, they discard the wrapping paper. People rarely think of what happens to wrapping paper once it has done its job. Can wrapping paper be recycled?

So Can You?

The short and direct answer to the question is not always. Though wrapping paper is an essential part of holidays and special occasions, it’s not always possible to recycle them. In some locations, local authorities have added wrapping papers to the normal recycling process, and others insist that you take the wrapping papers to recycling centres.

But because of how some wrapping papers are constructed, some regions don’t have recycling centres that handle wrapping paper. In these cases, the only option is to recycle the wrapping paper at home.

In which instances can you recycle wrapping paper?

When wrapping paper is laminated, thin, or includes metallic foil and glitter, it’s hard to recycle. Thin wrapping paper doesn’t have a lot of fibre. As such, it cannot be gleaned through processing machines while foils and laminated sheets cannot be processed using common recycling tools. Thick un-waxed wrapping paper is recyclable.

How can you recycle wrapping paper at home?

If there aren’t local recycling centres close to you, you can recycle wrapping paper in your home. There are many things you can use it for. Below are some ideas to use.

Wrapping paper recycling ideas

Recycling wrapping paper from your friends – wrapping paper scrunched into a ball is a fun toy for cats and dogs. The only condition is that it shouldn’t be glittered or foiled. Also, you need to be careful so that the pet doesn’t eat it as well. If you have a bird, you can line the wrapping paper on the bottom of its cage. You can also shred it and use the shreds to line your rabbit’s or guinea pigs cage. Small pets like rats and hamsters will love the idea of having non-foiled paper in their cages to shred it themselves and use as bedding.

• Recycling wrapping paper from your friends – wrapping paper scrunched into a ball is a fun toy for cats and dogs. The only condition is that it shouldn’t be glittered or foiled. Also, you need to be careful so that the pet doesn’t eat it as well. If you have a bird, you can line the wrapping paper on the bottom of its cage. You can also shred it and use the shreds to line your rabbit’s or guinea pigs cage. Small pets like rats and hamsters will love the idea of having non-foiled paper in their cages to shred it themselves and use as bedding.
• Using it as packaging – if you have a box or packaging business, shredding wrapping paper will be excellent for your business. Many wrapping papers can be shredded without a problem. The result is usually a sparkly and beautiful addition to storage or shipping packaging for your products.

Reuse it in the next holiday season – with some care; you can reuse your quality wrapping paper in the next holiday season. Reusing wrapping paper will save you some money you can otherwise use to get better or more gifts and save the environment. If you are a big family that is into gift-giving, this can make a world of difference. However, this recycling tip means you will need to be calm and composed when unwrapping the gifts. Tearing through the wrapping renders it useless for the next season.

How you can recycle wrapping paper for crafts

Wrapping paper can be great for crafts. Foiled wrapping paper is beautiful. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t use its sparkles to your advantage or brighten the face of kids.

You can use thick paper in scrapbooks and the thin wrapping papers in papier-mache activities. Very thick wrapping paper is perfect for origami projects which can double as Christmas decorations.

How to ensure you can recycle wrapping paper

When you are shopping for wrapping paper, try and reduce environmental pollution by choosing wrapping paper made from recycled paper. You can also stay away from laminated and foiled papers to ensure you can recycle it once you are done.

Also, when choosing wrapping paper, you can recycle, get rid of ribbons, sticky tape, and gift tags. These tiny items make a wrapped present presentable and even more beautiful but make it difficult for wrapping paper to go through a recycling plant. Spend a few seconds, removing them and save recycling plants a headache.

There you go. Now you know exactly what to do with the pile of wrapping paper scattered on the floor after gift opening. It’s an easy process once you get your mind into it.