While the holidays bring joy to many, they also bring a lot of waste. By remembering what seasonal items to recycle, you too can make the season a little brighter.
“We appreciate the holiday spirit and all the efforts to recycle as many materials as possible,” said Mark Kinsley, Superintendent of Waste Diversion. “It all makes a big difference for our environment.”
Holiday collection changes
There will be no recycling or garbage pickup on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. If your regular collection day is Thursday, please put your bins out on Friday. If it is usually Friday, you’ll want to put the bins out for collection on Saturday. This is just for these two weeks.
Christmas tree recycling
Recycle your real Christmas tree for free by taking it to one of the Let’s Chip In depots, open December 27 to January 31. You can recycle trees year-round at any 4R Winnipeg Depot.
When you drop off your Christmas tree for recycling, make sure it’s free of all lights or decorations. If you have a plastic tree bag, please take it home with you.
In January, free wood chips will be available at all Let’s Chip In depots, while quantities last.
Recycling your tree means keeping waste that creates greenhouse gases out of our landfill.
What you can recycle
You can drop off your old electronics or batteries to any 4R Winnipeg Depot. You can also recycle any of the following:
- Empty cardboard boxes
- Rigid plastic packaging
- Empty food and beverage containers
- Paper greeting cards without foam, glitter, or glue.
You can bring any extra recycling to a 4R Winnipeg Depot or one of the Community Depots for free.
Food Waste
If you have any leftover holiday food, choose to compost it. You can use the drop off stations for your food waste to keep it out of the landfill.
Check our list of addresses to find your closest food waste drop off station.
Batteries
Many of our holiday décor or household items need batteries, so it’s important to dispose of used ones safely.
Household batteries are a fire risk and should not go in the garbage or recycling. You can take these batteries to many local retailers, one of our library branches, or to a 4R Winnipeg Depot.
Lithium ion batteries are especially dangerous because their fires are hard to put out and last a long time. These batteries are found in common rechargeable items like tools, cell phones and electronic toys. Instead of throwing them out, bring these to a 4R Winnipeg Depot.
What belongs in the garbage
Common holiday items like coloured wrapping paper should never be placed in our recycling. They’re often made with foil, plastics, and dyes that contaminate the acceptable recycling.
Also, please avoid recycling the following items:
- Styrofoam
- Gift bags with string handles
- Ribbons
- Plastic bags
- Disposable cutlery and dishes
- Food and liquids
If you have extra garbage, you can bring it to the 4R Winnipeg Depot at 1825 Brady Rd. (the only 4R that accepts garbage) for a fee. Or you can contact 311 and pay a fee to arrange a special pickup of garbage.
Still not sure if your holiday trash is recyclable? Download the Recyclepedia app or check online to find out.
Our City, Our Podcast
Mark Kinsley, Superintendent of Waste Diversion, joined Our City, Our Podcast to chat about our recycling program. The episode was released in June 2024.