Holiday cleanup: what to recycle and what to throw away

Cleaning up after the holidays

Christmas 2025 is officially over and there are certain ways you should dispose of things. FOX 13's Kailey Tracy share how you should take down.

TAMPA - Christmas 2025 is officially in the books, and now it’s time for the cleanup. Solid waste officials say don’t recycle artificial trees.

Most municipalities ask for them to be disassembled and put into the garbage bin. In Polk County, you can set it out on your furniture and appliance collection day as well.

When it comes to string lights, bring them to a scrap metal recycler, or throw them in the trash. Don’t recycle them. In Pinellas County, you can drop off string lights at Anclote Metal Recycling in Tarpon Springs, Goodwill Donation Centers, OCM Recycle in Oldsmar, and Trademark Metals in Clearwater or Pinellas Park.

Wrapping paper that’s glossy, glittery, metallic or has glue on it should be thrown away. If it’s the classic type of wrapping paper that feels like and tears like paper, it can be recycled.

When it comes to electronics that you need to toss, almost anything you can plug in that’s rechargeable has lithium-ion batteries that can easily spark a fire. Take those items to your county’s drop-off sites. Don’t throw them in the trash or the recycling.

Solid waste officials say fun holiday greeting cards that sing carols, and even some holiday decorations, may use plain lithium batteries, but play it safe and take those to designated drop-off locations too. Standard alkaline batteries can go in the trash.

If you have a live Christmas tree, there are different pickup dates and rules depending on where you live.

Dig deeper:

In Hillsborough County, cut it into sections no larger than four feet long and six inches in diameter and put it out on your normal yard waste pickup day. You can also drop it off at the Northwest County Solid Waste Facility site located at 8001 West Linebaugh Avenue in Tampa, or the South County Solid Waste Facility site located at 13000 U.S. Highway 41 in Gibsonton Monday-Saturday from 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

In Pinellas County, you can drop off your live tree at the Pinellas County Solid Waste Disposal Complex located at 3095 114th Avenue North in St. Pete, Safety Harbor Yard Waste Transfer located at 1602 10th Street South in Safety Harbor, or Angelo’s Recycled Materials.

Pinellas County crews can then turn the trees into mulch that the residents can use.

"Basically, we use what's called a top grinder," Ashley Wyland, the Environmental Outreach Specialist for Pinellas County Solid Waste, said. "It's a giant, basically a giant food processor. We put all the yard waste and trees into that grinder. It grinds up all of it into mulch."

READ: What grief and loneliness can look like around the holidays, ways you can help

Local perspective:

In Polk, you can put the tree on your curb on your normal yard waste collection day. If the tree is taller than six feet, cut it in half.

In Manatee, set the live tree at the curb on your yard waste collection day. They can’t be longer than four feet.

In Pasco, you can drop off your tree from Dec. 26-Jan. 11 during regular business hours at Veterans Memorial Park in Hudson, Wesley Chapel District Park in Wesley Chapel, or at John S. Burks Memorial Park in Dade City. When you drop it off, crews will turn it into mulch for planting beds and walking paths throughout Pasco.

Make sure all the decorations are off of the tree before dropping it off or putting it on the curb in any municipality.

What you can do:

You can also reach out to your city to get more information on holiday decoration or tree pickup or drop-off sites.