A town-wide holiday gift wrapping recycling initiative started in 2013 in Branford has succeeded in spreading next door to the town of North Branford, just in time for the holidays.

Branford was the first town in the state to implement the program. It was co-founded by Branford Solid Waste Supervisor Dan McGowan and then-Branford High School (BHS) student Etta Hanlon.  In late 2015, the program was awarded a $6,000 recycling grant from state's Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), to help Branford begin to spread the practice to other towns, beginning with North Branford, said McGowan.

"This is part of an attempt to get this program into a template for all towns," said McGowan.

The grant arrived too last for last year's holiday season but work began between the two towns in order to have it up and running in North Branford in time for the 2016 holidays.  Members of North Branford's Solid/Hazardous Waste and Recycling Committee worked with McGowan to adjust the program to meet the needs of North Branford residents.

The collection process is actually a few steps more in Branford, which, unlike North Branford, does not have single-stream curbside recycling. In Branford, residents are encouraged to separate holiday recycling into brown paper bags they place on the curb to be collected with other recycling. Branford Public Schools have embraced the program and gone a long way toward helping implement it with families, said McGowan.

With help from the town, Branford purchases leaf-collection (30 gallon) paper bags which are made available at town community buildings, churches and schools, for use by residents who want to participate. Branford residents can also simply put their holiday recycling waste into any brown paper bag and bring it to the curb.

By contrast, North Branford has been using automated, single-stream recycling since 2012. So in North Branford, it's just a matter of spreading the word that residents can add holiday recyclables to their household's single-stream, 95-gallon recycling tote.

To help introduce and support the program, both towns teamed up with Branford Community Television (BCTV) to produce a short public service announcement (PSA). The video features information supplied by McGowan, Hanlon and North Branford's Solid/Hazardous Waste and Recycling Committee member Tom Scelfo, with help from BHS student Eli Hanlon, Walsh Intermediate School student Sawyer Bouley, North Branford High School (NBHS) student Winne Chan and Totoket Valley Elementary School (TVES) student Shane Esposito. The PSA is now up and running on BCTV, Totoket TV and online. View it here

North Branford's Solid/Hazardous Waste and Recycling Committee has additionally created small posters which have been distributed for display at town buildings including libraries, senior/community center and Town Hall, said Scelfo.

The committee is rolling out the news through North Branford Public Schools and has received support from principals at each building, Scelfo added.  A shortened version of the PSA will be shown to NBHS students over classroom monitors. The program will be verbally discussed with students at North Branford Intermediate School and students will bring home an explanation letter before the holiday break.  Discussions were also set for TVES and Jerome Harrison Elementary School students.

Most everything that wraps a gift – paper, tissue paper, boxes and gift cards, can be recycled. Mylar paper, Styrofoam, plastic packaging, bows and ribbons are not recyclable. Branford residents also need to separate corrugated cardboard (which goes into resident's regular blue recycling bucket).

McGowan said the effort to get more people, and more towns, involved in recycling holiday paper waste is well worth it.

"These are materials that are recyclable that you produce through the holiday season," said McGowan. "In the past three years in Branford, we've converted an estimated 50 tons of paper products from trash to recycling."