Our summary of SPU’s December 19, 2025 post: in Seattle, plain wrapping paper, flattened cardboard boxes and cardboard wrapping-paper tubes go in the recycling. Tissue paper, ribbons and bows, gift bags with handles, bubble wrap and holiday string lights go in the garbage. That is what Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) says in its December 19, 2025 Recycle Your Holidays post. Our summary of SPU’s 2025 tree posts: a real tree takes a third route; last winter SPU collected trees and holiday greens beside the food and yard waste cart, free from December 26 to January 31, cut into sections of four feet or less with every decoration off.
One thing up front: Hometress does not take online bookings in Seattle yet. Seattle has a Seattle waitlist, so nothing here is a Hometress Seattle price or a promise of service. We are a cleaning company, not a waste agency. We read three SPU posts from the 2025 holiday season on November 1, 2026 and repeat what they say, with the post named beside each line. Those are the rules and dates described in the 2025 posts. Check SPU’s current pages before you set anything at the curb this winter. The opening summary and holiday-schedule paraphrase are ours, based on those dated posts. The order for the living room further down is ours, labelled as ours.
The wrapping-paper sort table
Every row is tied to one line in SPU’s December 19 post, except the tree row, which comes from its December 15 post. The last column is what that line adds or leaves unsaid, which is where a living-room floor tends to get stuck. Where SPU is silent we say so instead of guessing.
| Item | Bin | Seattle Public Utilities says | What it adds or leaves open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain wrapping paper | Recycling | Recycle Your Holidays post, recycling list: “Plain wrapping paper (no foil, glitter, or plastic coating)”. | The post’s test for paper: “If it tears easily like paper, it’s likely recyclable.” The lines we read do not name tape. |
| Foil, glitter or plastic-coated wrapping paper | Not recycling. SPU’s unsure rule says garbage | The same recycling line excludes it: “no foil, glitter, or plastic coating”. The garbage list names “anything with glitter”. | The garbage list does not name foil or plastic-coated paper. The post’s rule for the unsure: “When in doubt, it’s better to put questionable items in the trash than risk contaminating recycling.” |
| Tissue paper | Garbage | Garbage list: “Tissue paper”. | It sits on the opposite list from plain wrapping paper, so the two are not interchangeable. |
| Ribbon and bows | Garbage | Garbage list: “Ribbons, bows, and anything with glitter”. | The glitter part of the line covers any item, not only ribbon. |
| Gift bag with handles, or with foil or glitter | Garbage | Garbage list: “Gift bags with handles or decorated with foil or glitter”. | The line does not name a plain bag with no handles or decoration. We take no side beyond SPU’s unsure rule, garbage. |
| Flattened cardboard gift box | Recycling | Recycling list: “Flattened cardboard boxes”. | The word is flattened. The lines we read do not mention tape or tags. |
| Cardboard wrapping-paper tube | Recycling | Recycling list: “Cardboard wrapping paper tubes”. | The line says cardboard tubes and asks nothing further of them. |
| Holiday card or envelope | Recycling if it has no foil or glitter | Recycling list: “Holiday cards and envelopes without foil or glitter”. | A card with foil or glitter is not on the list, so SPU’s unsure rule applies. |
| Bubble wrap, plastic film or foam packing | Garbage | Garbage list: “Foam packing peanuts or blocks, bubble wrap, and plastic film”. | Three kinds of packing on one line. |
| String lights | Garbage | Garbage list: “Holiday string lights (they tangle recycling equipment)”. | The one line in the post that carries its own reason. It names no other place for lights to go. |
| Single-use plates, cups and utensils from the holiday table | Garbage | Garbage list: “Single-use plates, cups, and utensils”. | It is on the same list as the wrapping, so one garbage pile covers both. |
| Real Christmas tree | Beside the food and yard waste cart, in sections | Tree post: “next to your food and yard waste cart on your regular collection day”. | SPU’s line places it next to the cart. The preparation and limits are in the next section. |
The tree: what SPU asked for last winter
SPU gave the tree rule in two posts: a November 21, 2025 holiday schedule post and a December 15, 2025 post on trees, which has the detail. Here is what they say, set side by side.
- When: “Customers can compost trees and holiday greens for free from December 26 – January 31!” The December 15 post adds: “Starting February 1, extra yard waste fees will apply for trees and greens”.
- Strip it: “Remove all decorations, lights, tinsel, ornaments, and metal clips” and “Remove any flocking or wiring”.
- Cut it: “Cut trees into 4-foot lengths or shorter” and “Ensure the trunk diameter does not exceed 4 inches”.
- Bundle greens: “For bundled branches, use sisal string or twine (not plastic)”.
- Set it out: “next to your food and yard waste cart on your regular collection day”, and the December 15 post allows “up to 2 undecorated trees or bundled greens”.
- Apartments: the November 21 post says “Apartment residents may place up to two trees next to each Food & Yard waste cart at no charge.” The December 15 post adds: “Additional trees will be picked up as extra yard waste with fees applied.”
- Transfer Station: the December 15 post says to use the North or South Transfer Station, and “Each vehicle can drop off up to 3 trees”, “Trees cannot exceed 8 feet in length” and “Trunks cannot exceed 4 inches in diameter”.
The two posts differ in one place. The November 21 post says: “You can also drop off up to 3 trees less than 8 feet in length at a Transfer Station.” The December 15 post says a tree cannot exceed eight feet. A tree of exactly eight feet is where they disagree, so check SPU before you drive one over.
The holiday week’s collection delay
The November 21 post also set the delay for the holiday weeks of last winter. It said there was no garbage, recycling or food and yard waste pickup on three Thursdays, November 27, December 25 and January 1. Its rule: “If your regular collection day falls on one of these holidays, your service will be delayed by one day.” Our paraphrase of that November 21, 2025 schedule: Thursday customers were served Friday and Friday customers on Saturday. Customers whose days fell Monday through Wednesday saw no change, and the North and South Transfer Stations were closed on those three days. That is the schedule described in the November 21, 2025 post. Check SPU’s current pages for this winter’s schedule.
What SPU’s posts leave open
Here is what the three posts do not say. SPU’s Where Does It Go? tool has an A to Z list for items this page leaves out. We have not run our examples through it, so check an unusual item there.
- An artificial tree is not named in any of the three posts.
- A tree stand and a tree bag are not named either. The one related rule is the twine line above.
- A flocked tree: the post says to remove the flocking, and does not say what to do with a tree whose flocking will not come off.
- Tape on a box or on wrapping paper is not mentioned in the lines we read.
- The dates above describe the 2025 holiday season. Check SPU’s current pages for this winter’s tree window and holiday schedule.
A living-room order for the week after
This order is ours, labelled as ours: a sequence we assembled from the table and the tree list, not an SPU schedule.
- Take the tree first, because it is the biggest. Lights, tinsel, ornaments and metal clips off, flocking and wiring off, cut to four-foot lengths, trunk checked against the four-inch line, then set by the door.
- Sort the paper next. Give each sheet SPU’s tear test, and put plain paper in a recycling pile. Foil, glitter and plastic-coated sheets go in the garbage pile. Flatten the boxes.
- Fill the garbage pile with the tissue paper, ribbons and bows, gift bags with handles, bubble wrap and plastic film.
- Put the string lights in the garbage pile last. SPU’s reason is on its line.
- Check the date. The free window above is last winter’s, so confirm this winter’s on SPU’s current page before you set the tree out.
- Once the tree is out, sweep or vacuum the floor.
SPU counts trees per food and yard waste cart, shared at apartment buildings, not per resident. Our Seattle apartment cleaning checklist is written for small apartments and studios. For how the damp months change a floor and a doormat, see the Seattle rainy-season routine.
Where Hometress fits
Hometress takes online bookings only in Philadelphia today. Nothing here promises a visit at a Seattle address. The published cleaning checklists include a line, “Clean and Empty Trash Cans”, which names trash cans, not wrapping, a tree or lights, so we do not say a visit sorts, bundles or removes any of it. If you live in Seattle, you can join the Seattle waitlist.
Common questions
Can you recycle wrapping paper in Seattle?
SPU’s Recycle Your Holidays post lists plain wrapping paper with no foil, glitter or plastic coating as recyclable. Foil, glitter and plastic-coated paper are not on that list, and SPU’s rule for the unsure is the garbage.
Where does a Christmas tree go in Seattle?
Last winter SPU asked for it undecorated and cut into lengths of four feet or less, set beside the food and yard waste cart on the regular collection day, or taken to a Transfer Station. Both routes were free through January 31. Check SPU’s current page for this winter’s dates.
Can string lights go in Seattle recycling?
SPU’s post puts holiday string lights on its garbage list and gives a reason on the line: “they tangle recycling equipment”.