Christmas leftovers: trash

Photo: The Canadian Press

Canadians will send 100,000 elephants worth of wrapping paper to the dump this year – and Christmas presents are a big culprit.

Zero Waste Canada, a Vancouver-based advocacy group, estimates each Canadian tosses about 50 kilograms of garbage over the holidays, 25 per cent more than the rest of the year, thanks to the purchase of 3,000 tonnes of foil, 2.6 billion Christmas cards and six millions rolls of tape.

Altogether, 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper and gift bags are thrown out each year.

Gift bags, tape and ribbon can't be recycled. Some cities, like Toronto, will recycle plain paper gift wrap but anything with glitter or velvet or foil on it has to be plucked out.

City of Winnipeg Waste Diversion Supervisor Mark Kinsley says Winnipeg doesn't accept any wrapping paper at all for recycling. Aside from the confusion it sows in residents who don't know what is or isn't safe to put in the blue bin, Kinsley says the dyes used on wrapping paper are too intense.

"It's too inefficient and cost prohibitive to take the ink out," said Kinsley.

Kinsley said the week between Christmas and New Year's is a heavier week for garbage and recycling pick up. The city doesn't need extra trucks or staff but they are often out on routes longer. Trucks fill up faster and have to head to the landfill to empty out more often.

Robert Orpin, director of solid waste management services for Toronto, said they notice an uptick in curbside waste this time of year but handle it without extra trucks or staff.

Like most cities, Toronto tries to educate people on what can and can't be recycled but the recycling plants still have to include sorting systems where decrepit glittery wrapping paper can be separated from its more environmentally-friendly pure paper cousin.

"We have a contamination challenge here," said Orpin.

Statistics Canada shows in 2014 — the most recent year for which Canadian data is available — more than 25 million tonnes of waste ended up in Canadian landfills, or more than 700 kilograms of garbage per person.