Sort your holiday waste correctly

The festive season at the end of the year also brings with it waste – gift packaging, broken decorations, and leftovers from Christmas meals. Food scraps belong in bio waste and glass in glass collection, but are you confident about the trickier sorting rules?

Gift wrap and ribbons go in mixed waste because they are heavily dyed and often contain stickers or tape.

Christmas cards or cardboard name tags go in paper recycling.

Chocolate boxes and advent calendars contain several materials. The box itself is a cardboard package, as is the paper-like layer on top of the chocolate trays. The plastic wrap around the box and the tray beneath the chocolates belong in plastic packaging recycling.

Fat from cooking ham is mixed waste. The easiest way is to pour the cooled liquid fat into a milk or plastic container, seal it tightly, and place it in mixed waste. Do not pour fat down the drain or toilet, as it clogs pipes.

Paper towels and napkins go in bio waste.

Stearin and leftover candle wax belong in mixed waste. Glass or plastic lanterns are also mixed waste.

Aluminium trays, foil, and tealight cups are metal. You can also place other items in metal recycling if they are made of at least 50% metal. Aluminium causes problems at waste incineration plants, so sorting metal matters!

Broken Christmas decorations, such as baubles and tinsel, are mixed waste.

Broken light strings and electric candelabras are electronic waste. These can be taken free of charge to Sortti Stations or returned to stores that sell them.

Christmas trees can be left in a visible spot near the waste collection point. They will be collected during January–February.

Everyone generates more waste during holiday time, so collection points fill up faster. You can do your part to keep the waste area tidy with a few simple actions: