What should be done with the leftover fat from the Christmas ham? What about candlesticks and stearin? At Christmas, even an experienced sorter can get baffled by waste they don’t see every day. We put together some recycling tips for the Christmas season that will help you sort everything successfully even during the holidays!
Recycling cards, flowers, and wrapping paper
Being remembered is nice, but before long you will have to face the facts and throw the received cards and flowers in the trash. Christmas cards are sorted into cardboard, flowers and their soil into biowaste, and flower wrappers, depending on the material, into either cardboard or plastic recycling.
Candles, tealights, and outdoor candles
Live fire provides a great atmosphere, but never overlook fire safety! Never leave fire unattended and ensure that outdoor fires are at a sufficient distance from combustible materials. When you are done, dispose of the candle stubs and stearin in burnable waste. Do not under any circumstances pour stearin down the drain! Cleaned metal and foil casings of tealights and outdoor fires can be sorted into metal collection.
Gift wrappings for reuse or into mixed waste
Did you manage to unwrap your gift without tearing the wrapping? Save it for next Christmas, and you’ll save yourself from buying new wrappings! If the recipient excitedly shredded the wrapping paper, sort the remains into mixed waste. Christmas wrappings are typically not suitable for paper or cardboard collection because of the dyes, pieces of tape, and stickers they contain.
Ham fat can be disastrous in the kitchen
Leftover fat from the ham is probably the most notorious of Christmas waste. Do not under any circumstances pour fat into the sink or the toilet, as it will clog the drain. Let the fat from ham and other Christmas dishes cool down and solidify, for example, in an empty milk carton, and then put it into mixed waste.
Or better yet, take the sealed package to a Kinkkutemppu collection point and give the fat a new life as biodiesel. You can find the nearest collection point here: https://www.kinkkutemppu.com/kerayspisteet/
Tinfoil, tins, and other kitchen waste
Tinfoil and aluminium tins can be rinsed clean and sorted into metal collection. Plastic bread, freezer, and pastry bags naturally belong in plastic waste. Boxes of chocolate or other candy, however, typically contain several different materials. The cardboard outer shell is sorted into cardboard, but the plastic parts inside the box belong in plastic collection.
