Phoenix encourages residents to think green with Christmas gift wraps

PHOENIX — With Christmas right around the corner, many Valley residents are starting to wrap up their presents and put them under the tree.

But Phoenix’s zero waste coordinator is encouraging people to think green when it comes to wrapping their holiday gifts.

“I know we’re getting late in the season, here,” said Lucas Mariacher. “But if you’re still wrapping presents, try to use junk mail or newspapers. And always try to use materials that are recyclable.

Related: Gilbert woman launches eco-friendly gift wrapping company

“Don’t buy a ton of ribbon and soft-film plastics – this stuff causes a variety of issues at our recycling plants,” he said. “Even using old boxes you bought presents in, you can reuse those boxes for gifts.”

Mariacher also suggested using decorative reusable shopping bags as gift bags and donating past holiday decorations and lights instead of throwing them away.

The reuse and recycle idea can even extend to your Christmas trees and wreaths: The city will hold tree recycling drives from Dec. 26 to Jan. 7 in order to use those for mulching.

“Make sure you take everything off the tree – tinsel, lights, any nails,” Mariacher said. “Any of that stuff is going to cause problems at our composting facility.”

The city will also accept container-grown living trees, as long as they are 15 gallon-sized or 24″ box-sized and of four types of species: Aleppo, Eldarica/Goldwater, Canary Island or Chir.

The drop-off locations for tree recycling can be found on the city of Phoenix’s website.

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