Christmas trees are collected to be dumped into a grinder at the state Central Landfill, in Johnston. Wrapping paper, Christmas cards and more are commonly brought to the landfill even though the items are recyclable.

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The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

Most of us see it every year.

After the presents have been opened, the Christmas bounty is often dwarfed in comparison to the mountains of wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, bags and boxes.

For the fortunate, the holiday season is an abundant time of year, heavy on gatherings, gift-giving and, consequently, a lot of trash.

The week after Christmas, the amount of garbage Rhode Islanders send to the state landfill increases 31 percent, says Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation recycling manager Sarah Kite. (The company runs the state’s Central Landfill in Johnston.)

A lot of wrapping paper, Christmas cards and gift bags are commonly dispatched to the landfill even though the items are recyclable, Kite said.

“I know there are a lot of good boys and girls out there who got presents from Santa,” Kite said. “And if Santa brought anything in boxes, please recycle those boxes.”

Recycling can often be confusing, with well-meaning, straightforward guidelines unable to address the seemingly infinite number of products and their accompanying packaging.

Kite asks Rhode Islanders to be overcautious when sorting recyclables after the holidays. Put shiny or resin-coated gift bags and cards in the paper bin, but stop with foil wrapping paper, cellophane, Styrofoam and ribbons.

She said the machines can handle the small amount of impurities and that it is more important to reduce the effect on the landfill.

Only plastics with the number 1 or 2 inside the triangular arrows are allowable in Rhode Island because of the quality of the material.

The winter holidays often bring more electronic gadgets into the hands of happy recipients, leaving some households with outdated or unwanted electronics to get rid of.

If the items are still working, Kite suggests donating unwanted computers, cell phones, televisions and printers to your local Boys & Girls Club or senior center.

For electronic waste not in working condition, the landfill hosts 10 days of free collection for the upcoming year, with the first on March 15. (It charges 20 cents a pound on other days to properly dispose of electronic waste.)

Recycling or reusing electronic items is important for two reasons: many contain harmful or poisonous metals and the breakneck speed of technological advances creates an increasingly large amount of e-waste, the vast majority of which ends up in landfills.

The Environmental Protections Agency estimates that from 2000 to 2007, about 500 million personal computers will become obsolete and enter the municipal solid waste stream.

Computer monitors and older TV picture tubes contain an average of four pounds of lead and require special handling at the end of their lives, the EPA says.

In addition to lead, electronics can contain chromium, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, nickel, zinc, and bromine-based flame retardants, the agency says, making proper disposal not only an ecological concern but a matter of public safety.

The RIRRC has always frowned upon businesses and residents who throw electronics in the trash, but starting in July it will be a formally forbidden and finable offense.

“The haulers will be told not to pick it up,” Kite said. “If they do pick it up and it can be tracked back to the municipality, they may be fined.”

That drying up evergreen in your living room has an ecologically sound resting place as well.

Every year Rhode Islanders purchase an estimated 250,000 live Christmas trees, the RIRRC said, and after Dec. 25, the agency hopes to get its hands on as many of those trees as possible so it can grind them up for mulch or composting.

Last year the landfill accepted 313 tons of Christmas trees collected by cities and towns. The corporation accepts the trees for free, which is a savings for towns charged $32 a ton to dispose of other refuse.

The corporation recommends calling local public works departments or the corporation at (401) 942-1430, ext. 778, for more information.

If you leave your tree out for pickup, remove all decorations, especially tinsel. And don’t leave it in a plastic bag.

For more information on what is or isn’t recyclable, visit www.rirrc.org.

ngarcia@projo.com