Holiday Recycling

From gift-giving to clean-up, use these tips to reduce waste at home and cut costs.

• Give an experience with tickets, zoo passes, or gift cards to your favorite local business.
• Gift handmade items such as baked goods, canned or pickled food, craft items or photographs.
• Decorate with live plants, tree cuttings, pinecones etc. When done, place in your yard debris cart.
• Use last year’s Christmas cards to make crafty ones this year.
• Bring your reusable bags for holiday shopping at local, big box and grocery stores. 
• Use reusable dishes rather than disposable.
• Reuse gift bags and boxes.
• Wrap gifts in fabric, newspaper, old maps or comics.
• Choose wrapping paper free of plastic or metal. 
• Reduce holiday food waste by shopping with meals in mind. Use containers to freeze extra holiday food. Get more tips and take the challenge at EatSmartWasteLess.org
• Choose LEDs to save energy and recycle your old holiday lights and other broken electronic items. Contact Metro at 503-234-3000 to find the nearest recycling center. 
• For more holiday ideas, see Metro's Waste-wise holiday information

Place natural holiday greenery in your yard debris cart.

Garbage only

• Foil
• Ribbons
• Wire
• Ornaments
• Flocking or chemicals/paint

 Yard debris

• Poinsettias and small plants without excess soil
• Wreaths without any wire, ribbons, etc.
• If you are not able to cut your tree, contact your hauler for options 

Christmas Tree Recycling 

Businesses: Call your hauler or Metro at 503-234-3000 for tree disposal options.

Houses: Cut trees to fit inside the yard debris cart for no charge. The lid must close. No flocked trees, ornaments, tinsel, wires, etc.

• Whole, natural trees less than 6-feet may be set at the curb for an extra $4.71 fee.
• Trees over 6-feet tall must be cut into sections less than 6-feet in length. Each section at the curb is a $4.71 fee.
• Set flocked trees, less than 6-feet, out for garbage for a $6.49 fee. 
• If you are not able to cut your tree, contact your hauler for options.

Tree recycling for apartments

Call your property manager, or Metro at 503-234-3000 for tree disposal options. 

Support a local nonprofit fundraiser

Call Metro at 503-234-3000 to find out who will be picking up trees in your neighborhood for a small fee.

 Resources

Metro’s Christmas tree recycling information 

For hard-to-recycle items, visit Metro to find a recycler

Recycle 

• Paper gift bags with no foil, ribbons or plastic coating. 
• Paper gift boxes with no foil or plastic. (remove duct tape)
• Paper-only gift cards (without foil, photos, plastic cards or musical cards with batteries)
• Newspaper and cardboard
• Plastic bottles/tubs
• Metal cans
• Battery collection is available with your glass curbside recycling bin. Learn more about safe battery disposal.

Garbage only 

• Bows and ribbons
• Foil wrapping paper 
• To-go containers and cups of any kind
• Plastic packaging
• Styrofoam, bubble wrap, packing peanuts  
• Paper and plastic plates, cups and plastic forks

Find out more about disposing of household hazardous waste (batteries, construction materials, furniture, etc.)