Happy Holidays DC! Did you know that household waste increases by more than 25% from Thanksgiving to New Years? Here are some tips to reduce holiday waste being sent to landfills.
Holiday Reduce & Reuse Tips
- Choose natural decorations. Decorate with gourds, pine boughs, and other items found in nature. Then, when you're done with them, these materials can be composted with your other yard waste.
- Use recyclable paper bags from grocery stores to wrap presents or reuse gift bags from last year.
- Gift experiences instead of stuff! Tickets to a show, dinner for two, or massage coupons are all great gift ideas that require no packaging. The only thing left behind is happiness and memories of a good time. So think outside the gift box and give some fun this holiday season.
- Going holiday shopping? Leave a reusable bag in your car or office for impromptu shopping trips.
- Baking cookies or other goodies this holiday season? Package them in reusable and recyclable containers as gifts. Homemade goodies show how much you care and help you avoid packaging waste.
- Use recycling signs to let your guests know where to dispose of their waste at your holiday party properly.
Waste Less Wrapping Paper - A Guide to What's Recyclable
Only glossy and plain wrapping paper can be recycled in your curbside bin. Tissue paper, along with metallic and wax-coated paper are not recyclable and should be reused or thrown away. Remember paperboard and cardboard products are recyclable, including gift boxes and wrapping paper tubes.
Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to get creative. If you have leftover gift bags from last year, reuse them, or try using newspaper, brown paper bags, or even a piece of cloth that you no longer need. You can even forgo wrapping gifts all together!
Empty, Flatten & Recycle Shipping and Gift Boxes
Recycle your shipping and gift boxes. Whether you buy gifts at the store, order online, or make them yourself, remember to empty, flatten and recycle your packaging and boxes (bonus points if you saved any gift boxes or bags from next year).
Reducing Holiday Food Waste
Holidays are all about cooking delicious meals. This holiday, think about reducing wasted food in your kitchen.
- Buy ingredients in bulk and use reusable containers when possible. Consider making your own broth using leftovers in your refrigerator.
- Check with your guests beforehand to see if they’d like to take leftovers home and cook to that amount. Make sure you have plenty of containers, aluminum foil, and storage items to pack everything up.
- Clean out your freezer to make room for everything you’re saving. Your freezer is a magic “pause” button for your food - if stored properly, you can safely freeze holiday leftovers for months.
- Collect your food scraps and bring them to your local Food Waste Drop-Off site to be composted.
- Do you want to win friends and influence people? Bring your food waste collection caddy to holiday parties! We promise it will spark conversation.
Pro tip: Use the Guest-imator when shopping to ensure you make just the right amount for your holiday dinners.
Keep Tanglers Out of the Bin (No Holiday Lights or Ribbons Please)
Did you know string items such as holiday lights, ribbons, and bows can get tangled in recycling sorting machinery? Remember to keep them out of your recycling cart. For alternative recycling and safe disposal options for holiday lights, search the DC’s What Goes Where Tool.
How to Recycle Your Holiday Tree
Natural holiday trees and greenery can be given a new life by being composted or chipped for mulch.
Collection for DPW-serviced households.
- Who: Residents who receive collection service from DPW (single-family homes and buildings containing three or fewer housing units) are eligible for holiday tree and greenery collection. Households not serviced by DPW (for example, larger apartment buildings) should consult with their landlord or property owner for collection procedures or visit a DPW drop-off.
- Where: Residents should place their trees and greenery in the tree box area or curbside in front of their homes.
- How: When setting these items out for collection, residents should remove all ornaments, tinsel, garlands, and lights. Do not place trees and greenery in bags. Residents can contact 311 to place a service request for holiday tree collection if holiday trees are not picked up after 7 days.
- Why: Trees and greenery collected starting January 2, 2025, through February 28, 2025, will be composted. District residents can collect up to five 32-gallon bags of the free compost year-round while supplies last at the Fort Totten Transfer Station. Residents must bring their own bags to gather the compost.
- When: Composting of holiday trees and greenery is not guaranteed after February 28, 2025. After that date, residents can place holiday trees and greenery at their normal collection point for trash and recycling. The items will be picked up with the trash as space in DPW trucks permits.The
The Holiday Tree Collection schedule will mirror the Fall Leaf Collection schedule:
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Monday: Section A in wards 1-8
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Tuesday: Section B in wards 1-8
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Wednesday: Section C in wards 1-8
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Thursday: Section D in wards 1-8
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Friday: Service requests and missed collections
Holiday Tree and Greenery Drop-Off
Residents can also drop their holiday trees and greenery at the following locations, Monday through Friday, 8 AM – 4 PM, from January 2 through March 31, 2025:
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Bryant Street Sweep Shop (201 Bryant St., NW)
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Guy Center (3600 Calvert St., NW)
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DPW Salt Storage Facility (2700 South Capital St., SE)
Pro tip: Branches and needles can also be "recycled" at home; just break them into smaller pieces and distribute them under trees and shrubs in your yard as mulch.
How to Dispose of Your Artificial Tree
Pro tip: If your artificial Christmas tree is still in usable condition, consider donating it or posting it on your neighborhood listserv, Craigslist, your local Freecycle group, or similar places. Visit reuse.dc.gov/page/exchange for more information.
- Households Serviced by DC DPW: If DPW regularly collects your trash, request a bulk trash pickup for your artificial holiday tree.
- Households Serviced by Private Haulers: If you or your building uses a private trash service, check with your waste collection company for instructions.
How to Dispose of Your Natural Wreaths & Garlands
- Natural wreaths and garlands can be composted or mulched with your natural holiday tree. Just place them out front on your scheduled collection day.
- Natural wreaths and garlands are typically bound together with wire. Wire and roping will damage DPW's shredding equipment and contaminate mulch. Therefore, separate the greens from any wires before setting them out the greens for collection.
- You can also gather them in a paper bag and schedule a yard waste collection by calling 311 or visiting 311.dc.gov. Otherwise, dispose of your wreaths with wire and roping as trash.
More questions?
If you have more questions on how to recycle, reuse, or safely dispose of your waste, search DC's interactive What Goes Where tool for more tips and suggestions.