Happy Holidays, DC! Did you know that household waste increases by more than 25% from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day? Choose to spread cheer, not waste. Here are some tips to reduce holiday waste being sent to landfills during the fall and winter seasons.
Holiday Reduce & Reuse Tips
Halloween & Thanksgiving:
- Choose natural decorations. This includes pumpkins! Decorate with gourds, pine boughs, dried corn stalks, and other items found in nature. Then, when you're done with them, these materials can be composted. Read below for details on how to compost your holiday trees, garlands, and jack-o-lanterns.
- Low-waste trick-or-treating can be tricky. Pick plastic-free candy packaging, if you can, or consider handing out coins, mini pumpkins, or packaged seeds for a spring garden.
- Nice costume, kid! When it comes to your costumes this year, consider switching it up at a costume swap. ReThread DC hosts their annual Costume Swap and Upcycling Workshop on October 26th, 2025.
- Love to bake? Package baked goods in reusable and recyclable containers as gifts. Homemade goodies show how much you care and help you avoid packaging waste.
- Let's compost this year. For Thanksgiving, set up a food scraps bucket next to your home trash can to lighten your load and compost instead! A 3-gallon bucket is plenty big for a small dinner party, is light enough to carry to a nearby drop-off spot, and will impress your guests.
Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other holidays:
- Use recyclable paper bags from grocery stores to wrap presents or reuse gift bags from last year.
- Give experiences instead! 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.
- Bring a reusable tote when holiday shopping. Reusable bags are not just for grocery shopping! Leave a reusable bag in your car or office for impromptu shopping trips.
- Use recycling signs at home to inform your guests where to dispose of their waste at your holiday party.
- Bring your food waste bucket along with you to holiday parties and offer the host the convenience of taking the plate scrapings off their hands. Then, drop them off at your neighborhood 24/7 Food Waste Smart Bin on your way home.
Compost your Pumpkins & Food Waste
The end-of-the-year holiday season brings pumpkins to doorsteps across the District. When it comes time to dispose of them, remember that pumpkins are considered food waste, too. However, some pumpkins are too large to drop off whole at a Food Waste Smart Bin. To drop off pumpkins for composting, remove all paint, glitter, and stickers, cut them into 3” chunks, and bring them to one of DC DPW’s 12 Weekend Food Waste Drop-off Events or a smart bin. Find all locations listed at zerowaste.dc.gov/foodwastedropoff.
If you are looking for a more cathartic way to compost your pumpkins this year, join us for a Pumpkin Toss! The 2025 dates are Saturdays, Nov. 8, 15, and 22, from 10am to 1pm, bring your old pumpkins to the food waste drop-off sites at Mount Pleasant Farmers Market and Monroe Street Farmers Market in Brookland. There you can smash your pumpkins, watch them fall and break into many pieces, and then breathe a sigh of relief.
For curbside food waste collection customers, visit zerowaste.dc.gov/foodwastedropoff for guidance on where to place pumpkins for collection by a crew member.
Fall Leaves
Information will be available soon for the Fall-Winter 2025-2026 season.
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 adjust your cooking accordingly. Ensure you have sufficient containers, aluminum foil, and storage items to pack everything securely.
- Clean out your freezer to make room for all the food 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.
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 papers, is not recyclable and should be either reused or disposed of. 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 altogether!
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).
Keep Tanglers Out of the Bin (No wire, 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 (Note: We will announce Fall-Winter 2025-2026 dates soon)
- 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 location.
- 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 request a service for holiday tree collection if the tree is not picked up within 7 days.
- Why: Trees and greenery collected starting (We will announce Winter 2025-2026 dates soon) will be composted. District residents can collect up to five 32-gallon bags of free mulch year-round (while supplies last) at the Fort Totten Transfer Station. Residents are required to bring their own bags to collect the mulch.
- When: Composting of holiday trees and greenery is not guaranteed after February 28, 2025 (updated dates for the Winter 2025-2026 season to be announced soon). After that date, residents can place a yard waste order with 3-1-1 and state they are requesting "a holiday tree and greenery collection" 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 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 (Note: We will announce Fall-Winter 2025-2026 dates soon)
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. Wires will damage DPW's shredding equipment and contaminate mulch. Therefore, separate the greens from any wires before setting 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 integrated wire, tinsel, string lights, and ribbon as trash.
More questions?
If you have more questions about how to recycle, reuse, or safely dispose of your waste, search DC's interactive 'What Goes Where' tool for more tips and suggestions.
