What Can And Can't Be Recycled In Radnor Amid Holidays?

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — With Radnor residents getting packages, gifts, cards, and more during this holiday season, the township wants to remind them how to recycle effectively amid the deluge of materials.

"From Thanksgiving to January, recycling material recovery facilities see an influx of contamination due to increased online shopping and improper recycling of holiday items," the township said in a social media post.

Below are guidelines residents should follow when dealing with materials:

Recyclable and compostable materials

• Cardboard boxes — Remove tape and break down your cardboard boxes into pieces smaller than 3' x 3' and place them in your recycling bin.
• Christmas cards — Recycle paper Christmas cards or reuse them as gift tags for next year!
• Christmas trees — Remove all decorations and lights and place your tree at the curb. Beginning in January, crews will pick up trees on your yard waste days and take them to Skunk Hollow where they will be reused and processed into mulch.
• Wrapping paper free of non-paper additives — If it passes the scrunch test, toss it in the recycling bin.
• Wrapping paper tubes — Just like paper towel tubes, you can place these cardboard tubes in your recycling bin.

Non-recyclable materials

• Artificial Christmas tree — Fake trees are not recyclable or compostable. Please schedule a Bulk Pickup.
• Natural wreaths and garlands — Place your natural wreaths and garlands in your yard waste collection. They will be taken to Skunk Hollow and composted.
• Holiday lights — Along with garden hoses, string lights are known as "tanglers" because they get tangled in machinery and cause delays at the recycling facility. Please toss holiday lights in the garbage if they are broken and cannot be fixed or reused.
• Plastic bags — Please throw plastic bags in the garbage or bring them to a grocery store that recycles them. Decrease your waste by using reusable bags when grocery and gift shopping.
• Ribbon — Ribbons, bows, and string cannot be recycled but they can be reused! Store them in a box for next year.
• Styrofoam — Also known as polystyrene, Styrofoam is never recyclable.
• Wrapping paper with glitter, foil, etc — Must be reused or thrown in the garbage.