It can be confusing to know whether you can recycle wrapping paper – but thankfully a bin man has issued advice on the matter. He recommended a two-second test
Ashley issued advice to anyone throwing wrapping paper away(Image: Jam Press/@theno1.binman)
Many of us have surplus paper remaining from Christmas festivities that we don’t want to go to waste. However, it can be perplexing to determine which parts you can recycle.
Thankfully though, a bin man has offered advice to those looking to dispose of wrapping paper in the coming days. Ashley, a refuse collector from the South East of England, stepped in with some guidance that has already attracted more than 140,000 views on TikTok.
When it comes to discarding the items, he said: “It depends on the wrapping paper. So if you have actual wrapping paper paper, what you should be able to do with it is screw it into a ball – and if it stays in the ball, it’s just paper and that can go in your paper recycling bin.”
Ashley shared his top tips for keeping the bin men happy at Christmas(Image: Jam Press/@theno1.binman)
However, there are times when you should keep the wrapping paper far away from the recycling bin.
Ashley advised: “If it’s got lots of Sellotape or labels all over it, then take them off and then just put it in the paper bin. Save some room in your general waste.
“But if you screw into a ball and it starts expanding back out again, that’s got mainly plastic in it, and that should not go in your paper bin. It’s not paper, it’s mainly plastic and it’s got a film over it – that one would go in your general waste.”
Even though local councils may have different regulations, Ashley uses the scrunch test as a general guideline. He added: “If it expands, it’s plastic – if it stays as it is, it’s paper.”
It only takes a couple of seconds to scrunch the wrapping to check if it’s recyclable, so make sure you do this before binning it.
Plastic wrapping paper is not for the recycling bin(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
This isn’t the only piece of advice the bin man has shared this festive season. He stated: “Remember your bin day is going to change so set a new reminder for those days.”
Rubbish collectors often keep working over the Christmas period, so Ashley added: “When you are parking your cars think to yourself ‘can a bin lorry get past?’ As you don’t want the bin men asking you to move your car first thing in the morning on your day off!”.
So there you have it – plenty of useful tips to bear in mind in the coming days!