We hope this doesn’t sound Scroogish, but we’re dreading the aftermath. A nasty trash pile is ahead: holiday wrapping, packaging, and other tinsely refuse.

What to do?

First, go to Practically Green for six holiday-centric ideas.

Second, ask Santa for a deluxe home recycling center, such as this amazing one featured on the EcoNesting blog today:

Third, get expert advice!

Sarah Kite is Director of Recycling Services for the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, where she oversees the progress of the statewide municipal recycling program and manages the general operations of the state’s Materials Recycling Facility. She writes a popular column called “Trash Tutorial” for the Providence Journal. And, she’s a proud mom to daughter Katie, age 17 and son Robbie, age 7: “My son says he ‘loves recycling’ because he gets to practice his jump shot by throwing bottles and cans into the recycling bin.”

Sarah gives her blessing to Practically Green’s dozens of recycling ideas – from low-impact actions such as Wrap a gift in recycled paper (5 points) to  to hugely impactful, e.g. Buy a pre-owned vehicle (100 points). We’re thrilled to introduce her as a resource!

It definitely makes sense to be thinking about this before the great unveiling, but you don’t have to go crazy trying to figure out a recycling system for Christmas morning.

The easiest way to capture all that great paper from the frenzy is to use a big paper shopping bag (think Old Navy, Williams-Sonoma, Macy’s, etc.) and put all the wrapping paper and gift tags in it. Boxes can be flattened and placed in the same bag as the paper. Bows and ribbons should be tossed in the trash if they can’t be reused. Plastic twist-ties, molded containers, and plastic restraints used to hold toys in place in their boxes can all be thrown away (although the twist-ties come in handy to keep Christmas lights tidy).

Then, after Christmas morning subsides, set the bag aside. Use it throughout the week to round up all the holiday catalogues, greeting cards, envelopes, and unneeded receipts. Stuff as much as possible in the bag to help prevent paper from flying out. When it’s full, recycle the entire bag and the contents.

More about Sarah: she’s a committed organic gardener and an avid composter. She has extensive “progressively responsible experience in environmental protection and solid waste management, including public policy and program design, grassroots environmental advocacy, solid waste contract management, recycling program implementation and analysis, composting education, and monitoring legislative processes.” She says that these experiences have led her to believe that green living is possible for all, and can be achieved on a variety of levels, but only with active cooperation and collaboration among the community as a whole.

Thank you, Sarah!