No surprise: Americans throw away more trash during the holiday season than any other time of the year. But did you know that the glut of Christmas garbage totals a whopping 25 million extra tons each year?

Reusing materials – especially those that can’t be recycled, like bows and ribbons – can make a huge collective impact. A recent Stanford University study found that reusing gift ribbons could tie a 38,000-mile bow that would more than wrap around the entire planet.

The City of Knoxville’s Waste and Resources Management Office can help. Check out its guide for holiday waste reduction: www.knoxvilletn.gov/recyclingguide.

The guide details what can and cannot be recycled, what to do with old holiday lights (even strands that no longer work), and how to dispose of that dry Christmas tree come January.

The first goal should be to try and reuse materials whenever possible. But if you are unable to repurpose wrapping paper, tissue paper, gift bags, tags, cardboard boxes and greeting cards, consider recycling them in your curbside cart, or take them to a recycling drop-off center.

Cookie tins can be recycled if they’re clean and dry. But if they’re in good shape, why not reuse them – or donate them?

It is not necessary to remove staples or tape from items being recycled.

Keep in mind, however, that many holiday items cannot be recycled, including holiday ribbons and bows, wrapping materials lined with plastic or decorated with glitter, and any Styrofoam packaging (like peanuts or Styrofoam blocks).

Plastic bags, bubble wrap and plastic air pillows also can’t be recycled curbside or at drop-off centers. But you can deflate plastic shipping materials and recycle them, along with plastic bags, at area grocery stores.

What do you do with old or unwanted Christmas lights? Almost all donation stores take working holiday lights. In fact, holiday decorations of all varieties are welcome at donation stores.

If your lights are no longer in working condition, you can still bring them to any Goodwill donation store for recycling – or give them to a Goodwill attendant at any City recycling drop-off center (8 a.m.-8 p.m.).

Lights can also be given to an attendant at any Knox County convenience center, or they can be dropped off at the City of Knoxville Household Hazardous Waste facility, 1033 Elm St.

Meanwhile, the easiest and most ecologically beneficial way for city residents to dispose of a Christmas tree after the holidays is to simply remove lights and decorations, then place it at the street for collection.

Christmas trees, like leaves and other brush, are delivered to Living Earth, where they are mulched and composted with other organic material into various yard products that the company markets and sells. Up to 1,000 cubic yards of hardwood mulch and 200 cubic yards of playground mulch are provided annually by Living Earth to the City for City horticulture crews to use to landscape public beds and parks.

Note that Public Service Department crews are concentrating on leaf collection this time of year, so brush is not collected on the regular two-week schedule followed during most of the year.

City residents can also take advantage of Knox County’s Tree-Cycling program and bring unwanted Christmas trees to any Knox County convenience center for free disposal throughout January. The trees are likewise mulched and diverted from the landfill.