HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The holidays tend to generate a lot of waste, which is why Hillsborough County is encouraging people to recycle this year.
But first, it's important to know what you can and cannot recycle because recycling incorrectly can do more harm than good.
Wrapping paper can be recycled if it feels like normal paper and is free of glue or ribbons. If the wrapping paper has foil, metallic, or glitter, it can't be.
Gift bags, on the other hand, can be reused, but they cannot be recycled.
"What you can’t recycle, especially during the holidays, are lights, and any sort of tangler like plastic bags," Hillsborough County recycling coordinator Daniel Gallagher said.
If you are cleaning up from a dinner party, Gallagher said don't recycle anything that is dirty or used.
“What you can recycle is your plastic bottles, your plastic containers, your general clean paper," he continued. "Your cardboard, as long as it's flat and broken down."
If you're not sure if something can be recycled, leave it out. Gallagher said recycling something incorrectly can cause more harm than good.
