How to throw away your Christmas tree in Halifax, and other tips

As the thrill of Christmas morning draws to a close, it's time to figure out what goes where.

Some in the Halifax Regional Municipality may be confused after the waste system was revamped this year, so here are a few key things you should keep in mind:

Wrapping paper — Fold it up and put it in with the paper recycling, as long as grandpa didn't spill his coffee on it, making it soggy. Wet paper goes straight to the clear garbage bags.

Gift bags — Here's your chance to reuse. Fold them up and save them for next year. But if they've reached the end of their gift-carrying days, put them in the garbage bin.

Ribbon or tinsel — If your child has spent the morning creating a giant, tangled ball of ribbon, chuck it in the clear trash. But if there's any that can be reused, put it away with your gift bags.

Corrugated cardboard — Many gifts come in cardboard boxes. Fold those flat and stick them in with your other paper recycling.

Styrofoam — The padding that fills those boxes, however, needs to head to the garbage.

Turkey bones and lobster shells — No matter what you served for dinner, those bits can head into your green cart.

Christmas tree — Put it on the side of the road on green cart days. And please, take all the decorations off first. Think we're kidding? "It happens," says Tiffany Chase, a spokeswoman with the city.

Reindeer droppings — If Santa's helpers left behind any reminders of their existence, stick them in the garbage.

The Halifax Regional Municipality has also come up with its own tips on how to reuse your Christmas goods.

Or, you can use the new feature on its website where you can search individual items to see how they should be sorted.

And a few reminders about garbage collection in the city:

• There will be no solid waste collection on Christmas Day or New Year's Day.
• Curbside collection of garbage, organics or recyclables normally scheduled for those Fridays will happen instead on Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.
• Collection can begin as early as 7 a.m., so you should put your stuff on the curb the evening prior to collection day.
• The Otter Lake Waste Management Facility, the Halifax Recycling Plant and municipal composting facilities will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
• The Household Special Waste Depot in Bayers Lake will be closed on Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, and will reopen for regular hours on Jan. 9.