The Do's and Don'ts of Christmas recycling

OKLAHOMA CITY — After unwrapping all your presents on Christmas morning are you one of those people who put everything in one big trash bag and throw it away or do you separate recycling and trash? Turns out many who don't recycle Christmas wrapping items just don't know the Do's and Don'ts.

Those who got their presents wrapped by workers at the Neoporter pop-up shop in downtown Oklahoma City, can rest assured their wrapping is completely recyclable.

"What we choose for the wrap station was post-recycled paper," said Neoporter founder Lydia Beham.

Beham and her family always make sure to recycle wrapping items on Christmas morning and she wanted to bring that sense of sustainability to the pop-up shop.

"We always pull out little, different bags so we have our trash bag and our recycle bag," Beham said. But she might be one of the few who do that.

"We put it all in a big bag and try to keep it all in one place," said one shopper.

Many don't recycle wrapping items either because it's easier than separating it all or they don't know what's recyclable and what's not.

"With 80% of the stuff that is thrown away especially around the holidays being able to be recycled, it's good to put a focus on it and to educate people," said Carrie Miller, manager at Municipal Services recycling.

Miller broke down what items are on the naughty list and the nice list when it comes to recycling. Things like wrapping paper, tissue paper, and cardboard are on the nice list.

"A lot of gift boxes, you know you see a lot of these. Even if tape is on it that's fine. All of this can be recycled as well," said Miller.

Then there's the naughty list. Miller says, even if an ornament is plastic, you can't recycle those.

"A lot of the bows and all of the little wrap cannot be recycled either. This is a naughty item."

You also can't recycle plastic packaging, packing peanuts or paper and bags that are laminated. But the good news is, a lot of the non-recyclable items can be reused.

"I'm notorious at my house for taking off all the bows after the kids have opened their presents. Those can be reused," Miller said.

Back at the wrap shop, Beham says she and her fellow wrappers are making sure to reuse every scrap of paper that is cut while wrapping. Bigger scrapes can be used for small items and smaller pieces will be used for tags or small cards on top of the gifts.

To see what items can be recycled in Oklahoma City click here.

To see what items can be recycled in Edmond click here.

To see what items can be recycled in Midwest City click here.