Shopping online for gifts this month? Here’s what packaging can be recycled in Philly

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The last three months of the year are the busiest time for ecommerce sales, according to U.S. Census data.

If you’ve been doing your holiday shopping online, chances are it’s come with a lot of packaging.

“When we’re looking at the holidays, we’re looking at a lot of plastic,” said Kyle Lewis, recycling program director for the city of Philadelphia. “We’re looking at a lot of cardboard boxes, a lot of wrapping paper.”

Here’s your guide to what’s trash and what’s not in Philadelphia.

Cardboard and paper almost always go in the recycling

The growth of ecommerce over the last two decades has meant an increase in the use of cardboard boxes, said Barbara Reck, a senior research scientist at the Yale School of the Environment who works with REMADE Institute, a public-private partnership dedicated to growing a circular economy.

“The boxing is basically always done in cardboard, and cardboard is fully recyclable,” Reck said.

In 2018, close to 97% of corrugated boxes were recycled nationwide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Philadelphia’s single-stream, curbside recycling program accepts thick cardboard from cardboard boxes and thinner cardboard, like the stuff that cereal boxes are made of. Philly’s curbside recycling also accepts paper — but not shredded paper.

“We really want the cardboard,” Lewis said.

Styrofoam and packing peanuts are generally trash

Styrofoam and other polystyrene foam packing materials should not go in Philly’s curbside recycling.

“Any form of packing peanut is not [recyclable],” Lewis said.

In fact, polystyrene is very rarely recycled, in part because it’s so light, so transporting it is not cost-effective, Reck said.

“Economies of scale don’t work,” she said. “Currently, it’s really not recyclable. People are working on it.”

Keep plastic bags and bubble wrap out of curbside recycling

Online purchases, especially clothing, often come wrapped in thin plastic bags. E-commerce purchases that come in boxes are often cushioned with bubble wrap or inflated “air pillows.”

These types of thin, filmy plastic can get caught in the machinery that sorts recyclables, so you should keep all of it out of the curbside recycling in Philly. This includes grocery store bags and trash bags.

Thin, filmy plastic can, in theory, be recycled. You may be able to bring popped bubble wrap, deflated air pillows and plastic ecommerce bags to a plastic bag pickup location, such as at your local grocery store, said Rafael Auras, a professor in Michigan State University’s School of Packaging.

“You should ask before dropping there, but it’s the same material — so it should be OK,” he said.

What to do with other holiday waste

Holiday gifting and gatherings can generate a lot of other waste. Here’s how to dispose of it in Philadelphia.

Curbside recycling:

• Cardboard wrapping paper tubes
• Most cards
• Most wrapping paper, including foil
• Glass bottles
• Plastic bottles and jugs
• Metal cans

Trash:

• Cards or wrapping paper with glitter or velvet
• Ribbons and bows
• Tissue paper
• Napkins and paper towels
• Shredded paper
• Lights and decorations
• Batteries and electronics (these must be disposed of at Sanitation Convenience Centers or can be recycled through specialty recyclers).

When in doubt, keep it out of the recycling. But try not to trash it

Sometimes, when people aren’t sure whether something can be recycled, they’ll put it in the recycling anyway, in hopes it’ll get a new life as another product. This is called “wishcycling” — and it’s actually counterproductive.

“We understand it,” Lewis said. “We know it’s good-intentioned. But wishcycling is actually a detriment to the stream, because we need to keep our recycling stream as clean as possible.”

“When in doubt, keep it out,” she added.

But it is important to divert waste from landfills, which generate planet-warming methane emissions, and trash incinerators, such as the one in Chester that has faced claims of environmental racism over its air pollution.

You can search the city’s online map for special recycling drop-off sites that accept items that can’t go into Philly’s curbside recycling, but are recyclable.

Lewis also recommends finding ways to repurpose and recirculate items, rather than trashing them. Online and social media communities  — such as Buy Nothing groups — can be particularly helpful.

For example, the packing peanuts and air pillows you consider trash could help the owner of a small online business fulfill orders.

“Neighbors are giving away things, and you’re giving away things, and useful items are actually just being recirculated as opposed to put in the trash,” Lewis said. “Let’s try to reduce, reuse and recycle throughout our holiday season — and throughout our year generally.”