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Gifting Outside the Box: Eco-Friendly wrapping ideas

The Bowen Island Recycling Depot has some creative ways you can give a gift to the environment this Christmas
Susan Redmond / Bowen Island Recycling Depot
Three women with many bins of refundables inside BIRD(1)
Happy Holidays from the Bowen Island Recycling Depot! Jan Seaman

This Christmas, think out-of-the-box when you are wrapping your gifts.

Look at websites such as Pinterest for new ideas. Try innovative ideas like hand decorated brown paper from shopping bags, or old maps, calendars, or newspapers. Think cotton string or raffia when tying up packages, rather than cello tape.

Try what the Japanese call furoshiki or wrapping cloth, to cover your gifts. You can use dishtowels, hand towels or just swatches of beautiful material.

One very original idea is to use family T-shirts to wrap gifts. Everyone will know who the gift belongs to when it is time to open them! It only takes a little imagination to make this a gift-wrap free Christmas!

But if you decide to go the more traditional route with Christmas wrappings, please take a look at the list below. These are wrappings that are not accepted at the Recycling Depot.

This is what CANNOT be recycled in with the mixed paper: Metallic/shiny wrapping paper or gift bags, wrapping paper or gift bags with metallic decorations, any paper, cards or gift bags decorated with glitter, or ANY bows or ribbons.

These materials contaminate the mixed paper which reduces the effectiveness in recycling the material and/or makes it difficult to meet the requirements of recycling markets.

The staff at the Recycling Depot wishes everyone a happy and fun holiday season!