The City of Calgary is alerting more than 180,000 households to prepare for disruptions to their recycling and waste collection schedules over the Christmas and New Year period. Officials are also issuing a strong plea for residents to meticulously sort their holiday garbage, recycling, and compost to manage a significant seasonal surge in volume.
Holiday Waste Volume Spikes by 25%
Waste diversion specialist Aidan Fernandes highlighted that the holiday season typically brings the largest influx of waste to city facilities. "Calgarians increase their waste by 25 per cent over the holiday season," Fernandes stated. This jump is primarily driven by extra food waste, paper, and plastic packaging from gifts and celebrations.
Improper sorting of these materials can lead to serious consequences, including processing delays, damage to sorting machinery, and potential safety hazards for workers at city facilities. "We want to ensure that we’re sorting these products right so that we keep our environments clean and safe and also our facilities," Fernandes emphasized.
Navigating Gift Wrap and Packaging
A major point of confusion during the holidays is gift wrap. Fernandes provided clear guidance: loose paper wrapping can go directly into the blue recycling bin, regardless of tape, stickers, or name tags. However, plastic cellophane or metallic wrapping should be placed in the black garbage bin.
An easy way to distinguish, he suggested, is the "tear test." If it tears like paper, it's recyclable; if it stretches or is shiny and plastic-like, it's garbage. For gift bags, remove any ribbons, handles, or decorations before recycling the paper bag itself.
Other common holiday items like eggnog cartons, yogurt containers, pie plates, and clean cooking trays are also recyclable after a quick rinse.
Composting More Than Just Food Scraps
The green compost bin can take on more than just turkey carcasses and vegetable peelings this season. Fernandes noted that paper plates, food-soiled napkins, and cupcake liners can all be composted, helping to divert significant material from the landfill.
For Christmas trees, residents have two primary disposal options. They can chop the tree up and place it in their green compost bin, ensuring the lid closes completely, which may require multiple attempts. Alternatively, they can drop off trees at one of 13 designated locations across Calgary. Importantly, all tree netting and broken Christmas lights must go in the black garbage bin, as they tangle and damage processing equipment.
The City of Calgary encourages all residents to consult the detailed waste sorting guidelines on the city’s official website to ensure a smooth and sustainable holiday cleanup.
