Skip to main content
  • About us
  • Events
  • News
  • Partners
  • FAQs

Search form

Main menu

  • Home
  • What to do with...
    • Popular items
    • Aerosols
    • Batteries
    • Clothing & textiles
    • Electrical items
    • Face coverings (masks) and PPE
    • Mobile phones
    • Plastic film & carrier bags
    • All items
  • Local recycling
  • Recycling knowledge
    • Getting started
    • How is it recycled?
    • Recycling around your home
    • Recycling from the bathroom
    • Food recycling
    • Recycling symbols explained
    • Facts and info
    • Northern Ireland
    • Recycle Week campaign
  • Reduce waste
    • 5 easy steps to reduce waste
    • Buying habits
    • Repair and re-use
    • Packaging and storage
    • Donate, sell and swap
    • Junk mail
    • Composting

What to do with

Wrapping paper

Some councils will accept wrapping paper in their household recycling collection scheme but others will not as wrapping paper is not accepted by some recycled paper mills, so please check with them first.

Why don't some local authorities accept wrapping paper for recycling?

The materials that go into making some wrapping paper result in it not always being accepted for recycling:
  • Wrapping paper is often dyed, laminated and/or contains non-paper additives such as gold and silver coloured shapes, glitter, plastics etc which cannot be recycled
  • Some wrapping paper is very thin and contains few good quality fibres for recycling
  • A lot of wrapping paper has sticky tape attached to it which makes it very difficult to recycle.

The wrapping paper test - if it scrunches, it can be recycled

  • Before recycling, remove any sticky tape and decorations such as ribbons and bows as these cannot be recycled.
  • Wrapping paper can only be recycled if it passes the scrunch test - simple paper wrap can be recycled but foil or glitter-decorated paper cannot and needs to go in the general waste.
Tips for recycling wrapping paper
Find your nearest recycling locations
Enter your postcode here to check

What to do with...

  • Popular items
  • Aerosols
  • Batteries
  • Clothing & textiles
  • Electrical items
  • Face coverings (masks) and PPE
  • Mobile phones
  • Plastic film & carrier bags
  • All items

Related content

Find out how to recycle:

  • Cardboard
  • Christmas tree lights
  • Christmas trees
  • Greetings cards
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Register for useful recycling news and tips delivered straight to your inbox

Around the UK

  • Recycle Now
  • Recycle for Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Wales Recycles
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & conditions
  • Community guidelines
  • Cookies
  • Contact

Brought to you by WRAP

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (which operates as WRAP) is a registered UK Charity No. 1159512 and registered as a Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales No. 4125764.

Registered office at Second Floor, Blenheim Court, 19 George Street, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 5BH.