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All that trash You can pay extra, compress it or use recyclables By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune Part of the post-Christmas letdown is realizing all that Christmas packaging and wrapping paper plus household garbage just isn't going to fit in your trash can. What to do? There are two schools of thought on this: Either put the extra stuff in a big garbage bag and set it next to your trash can at a charge of $3.05 in Medford - or jump on it and compress it into the normal space, said Don Cordell, manager of Rogue Disposal and Recycling in Medford. Ashland charges $2 to $4 depending on the size of the bag or extra can, and you have to call first and request the extra service. For the long-range thinker, come next Christmas or birthday don't use wrapping paper. It's full of foils and chemicals that prevent it from ever being recycled, said Dan Murphy of Ashland Sanitary and Recycling Service. "Wrapping paper is just trash," said Murphy. "You can't burn it because it sends bad chemicals into the air and it gums up the paper pulp machines if they try to send it through. Because it's shiny, some people try to put it in with the magazines for recycling, but we just have to pick it out and toss it." What works instead of wrapping paper? Funny papers (they're colorful), plain newspaper or grocery bags make good wrapping, said Cordell. "If it's a good present, I don't even care if it's wrapped." Wrapping paper may be a hassle for trash customers, but it's thin and packs down well for garbage carriers, said Murphy. You can compress your trash to your heart's content but keep in mind there are limits - state law doesn't allow workers to pick up cans heavier than 60 pounds. The heaviest trash doesn't come right after Christmas, but in the spring when people are cutting heavy brush and grass, he said. Corrugated cardboard from Christmas packaging can be put in with recycling, but the plastic windows in it don't recycle and have to be picked out, said Murphy. The thinner "gray board" cardboard common in cereal and shoe boxes won't recycle and has to be trashed. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.