Bin man shares key message about throwing away Christmas cards and wrapping

That’s where the story gets messy. A frontline bin man says the difference between doing it right and wrecking a whole truckload comes down to a simple rule most of us ignore.

It was still dark, and a brittle frost glazed the wheelie bins. A refuse lorry sighed to a halt outside a line of terraced houses, amber lights whirring like sleepy halos. Liam, a bin man of fifteen winters on the route, hooked a green lid with his glove and peered in with a quick, practiced look. A whole drift of glittery paper slid to the lip.

He shook his head, half amused, half resigned. “Happens every year,” he said, patting the rim. “Looks lovely in the lounge. Not so lovely in the mill.” Then he said one line that stuck.

The morning after the sparkles

The week after Christmas is the crew’s heaviest. Bins bulge, lids don’t shut, and the sorting belts at the depot run like a river in spate. Liam says the problem isn’t the volume, it’s the mix. Glittery wrap balled up with sticky tape. Foil paper hidden under a layer of plain tissue. A tangle of ribbon knotted around a paper bag. It only takes a few households to tip a load from “clean paper” into “too risky”. One wrong sparkle can spoil the bale.

On one cul-de-sac, Liam pointed out four houses in a row with the same mistake: shiny, metallic wrap tossed in with cereal boxes and newspapers. A dad waved an apology from the door. A teenager yelled, “It’s paper, right?” Liam did a quick scrunch test on a scrap, released it, and watched it spring back like a stubborn spring. “Not paper,” he called, tossing it into general waste. Street by street, these tiny calls add up to tonnes saved or lost.

Recycling plants are set up to pulp fibres, not battle glitter and glue. Foil laminates don’t break down like card; they shed. Glitter and plastic fibres escape and contaminate good paper. Sticky tape clumps gum up screens, slow the line, and can send whole bales to be burned. Every time someone tucks a ribbon or a gift tag into the paper bin, the risk climbs. That’s the bit most of us don’t see from a warm kitchen window. The system only works when the feed is clean.

How to sort Christmas waste like a pro

Liam’s “one line” goes like this: **When in doubt, leave it out**. It’s backed by a simple test. Scrunch wrapping in your hand. If it stays scrunched, it’s likely paper and can go in dry mixed recycling in most areas. If it springs back, it’s laminated or foil and belongs in general waste. Tear off big chunks of sticky tape and remove ribbons, bows and plastic windows. Plain cards? Recyclable once you’ve pulled away glittery bits and decorations. Flatten boxes so the lorry can breathe.

We’ve all been there, staring at a mountain of paper and half-eaten mince pies, racing to tidy before guests arrive. In that rush, the worst mistakes happen: bagging recycling in black sacks, nesting cans inside boxes, or stuffing fairy lights on top “to sort later”. Let’s be honest: nobody actually does that every day. Keep WEEE (like lights, batteries, toy cables) out of household bins and use a drop-off point or scheduled collection. Fires in trucks start from crushed batteries. Crews remember those.

It looked festive, and totally unrecyclable. Liam’s other phrase sticks too: **If it glitters, it litters**. Glitter cards and wrap shed microplastic. Put them in general waste unless your council states otherwise. Gift bags are a halfway house: plain paper bags can be recycled if you remove rope handles and plastic windows. Foil wrap, plastic-coated paper, and thick glossy finishes belong with general waste. And that wad of tape? Peel off the chunky bits. The paper mills will cope with a sliver, not a ball.

“We don’t want to bin your effort,” Liam said. “We want clean fibre. Think of it like tea — leaves in, glitter out. Do the scrunch test, strip the shiny stuff, and you’re golden.”

• Do: Recycle plain cards and paper wrap that passes the scrunch test.
• Don’t: Recycle glitter, foil, or plastic-coated wrap and cards.
• Do: Remove ribbons, bows, rope handles, and big strips of tape.
• Don’t: Nest materials or bag recycling in black sacks.
• Do: Flatten boxes; keep batteries and lights out of household bins.

A small change with a big ripple

There’s a reason crews keep repeating the same lines. Clean paper bales turn into new boxes and notebooks within weeks. Contaminated loads cost councils money and energy, and that bill ends up shared by everyone on the street. A five-second scrunch test doesn’t feel like much, yet it saves a mill from rejecting a lorry and stops microglitter slipping into the world we all share.

Families ask what difference one kitchen bin makes against a nation of tinsel. Quite a lot, says Liam, because recycling is a chain of trust. One house models it for the neighbour. The neighbour helps their kids peel off bows. Schools talk about it in January. Shop buyers notice and shift to plain, recyclable wrap next season. **Small habits scale when they’re visible**. If a bin man can turn a driveway chat into a cleaner truckload, a morning in the frost turns into something that travels far beyond the cul-de-sac.

FAQ :

• Are glittery Christmas cards recyclable?Usually no. Peel off decorations and glittery sections if possible, recycle the plain card part, and put the rest in general waste.
• What is the scrunch test exactly?Ball the wrapping in your hand. If it stays scrunched, it’s paper-based. If it springs back or feels like plastic/foil, bin it as general waste.
• Can I recycle wrapping paper with tape on it?Yes, if it’s plain paper. Remove big strips of tape and any ribbons; small bits left behind are typically filtered at the mill.
• Are gift bags and tissue paper recyclable?Plain paper bags are, once you remove rope handles and plastic windows. Tissue can be accepted by some councils, though its fibres are short; check local guidance.
• What should I do with ribbons, bows and shiny wrap?Reuse where you can. When worn out, put ribbons, bows and foil or plastic-coated wrap in general waste; they don’t recycle with paper.