CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — After all that time and care spent wrapping your loved ones’ gifts, your home is probably filled with all kinds of wrapping paper and boxes. But before you throw it in the trash, did you know your wrapping paper can be recycled?
In places like Harrison County, your wrapping paper can be recycled, but you have to make sure the wrapping paper is free of foils, glitter, flakes and plastics as it can pose a problem in the recycling process.
Executive Director of the Harrison County Solid Waste Authority Richard Barnett went into further detail about what shouldn’t be included with wrapping paper.
“We ask that you take the bows off, any bows off, ribbons, any of the sticky tape if you can get it, tags, things like that where it’s just the recycling paper ‘cause all the other things that are included there can actually work against them when they’re running it through the recycling process.”
According to Barnett, the Harrison County Recycling Center collects the wrapping paper and sends it to a facility that turns it into tissue paper.
“They will take it, they’ve asked that you just include it with any newspapers that you might have, the best, you know, if you can fold it up, great, if you can’t scrunch it up and smash it as tight as you can and just make sure that the garbage guys—the folks collecting it know what it is, if you put it in a black bag they’re not going to know it’s wrapping paper unless you tell them is wrapping paper,” Barnett said.
Don’t forget the cardboard roll that comes with the wrapping paper can also be recycled as well as the boxes your gifts came in, as long as those boxes are flattened.
“We just ask that people don’t burn, burning is a violation of state code and we’d like to see them recycled anyways,” said Barnett.
If you do not want to wait for the next collection day, you can also drop off your wrapping paper at the Hepzibah recycling center or at the two drop-off trailers, one in Anmoore beside the city building and the other in West Milford, also beside the city building.
If you do not live in Harrison County, Barnett said you can still drop off your wrapping paper or other recycling at the Harrison County Recycling Center or you can contact your local Solid Waste Management or recycling center for more information.
