KALISPELL — Christmas gifts may produce a lot of joy but they also create a lot of garbage as tons and tons of trash are generated throughout the holiday season.
While that sounds bad, there is good news — most of the trash on Christmas is actually recyclable.
Valley Recycling in Kalispell has seen a big uptick in recycled items following the holiday with the biggest increase being cardboard.
All the cardboard from shipping boxes and boxes used to wrap presents can be recycled. Also, wrapping paper, as long as it does not have foil inlaid in it, can be recycled as well.
Recycling is important, especially this time of year, to keep as much trash out of landfills as possible.
"When I was a kid — when I first moved up here — the landfill was a big hole in the ground. Now it's a mountain and they're working on their second mountain. So, anything that you take out of the landfill — it extends the life of the landfill by a little bit. As much as we can keep out of there is good," said Valley Recycling Lead Operator Mike Smith.
In Kalispell, people can recycle all of their Christmas wrapping at Albertsons, the landfill and at Valley Recycling. Additionally, recycling is available at select green box sites across Montana.
