December 23, 2025 • 6 mins
The holidays are fun, but once the presents are unwrapped, there's a lot of trash to deal with, as well as the Christmas tree that dries out and needs to go to the curb. There's another year-round issue... many of those toys have lithium-ion batteries that can't simply be thrown in the trash. We speak with Daniel Gallagher, project manager with Hillsborough County's Solid Waste Department, on both of these issues.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. Well, as you're hearing this,
it's likely at or after the holidays, and we're at
the end of the year and moving into twenty twenty six,
and many people have opened up their Christmas presents already
and many of those presents use lithium ion batteries. Eventually
those batteries or others will reach the end of their
(00:20):
lifespan and that can create a big problem for the
people who deal with your solid waste and all the
garbage and trappings and leftovers from the holidays, and we're
going to talk about ways of dealing with that and
other solid waste issues that are created by the holidays.
Daniel Gallagher is project manager with the Hillsborough Solid Waste
(00:40):
Department and he joins us right now on Beyond the News.
Daniel Gallagher, welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Thank you for having me, Gordon, and of.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Course you provide the services for the unincorporated areas of
Hillsborough County surrounding Tampa and Plant City and places like that. Now,
starting off with the issue with lithium ion battery when
people dispose of those, what are some of the errors
they make and what are the ways that they're supposed
to dispose of lithium ion batteries in Hillsborough County.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, as you mentioned, these batteries are found in so
many different items around your house and devices, and whether
you're the devices is done with or you're looking to
get rid of the batteries because you don't do with it. Unfortunately,
they're placed in the garbage or the recycling then and
then they get lost in the back of that truck,
they get punctured, they get compressed, they get damaged, and
(01:33):
they spark and start a fire a bunch of flammable
material like paper and plastics back there, and it only
takes one lithium ion battery to start a fire. So
residents of Hillsborough County can come to any one of
the county's solid waste community collection centers to drop up batteries,
or a number of stores actually take back batteries, and
that'd be more convenient for you as you're doing your
(01:54):
shopping and your returns and everything like that.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
So do not dump your lithium ion battery in the trash.
Take them to a disposal center, either run by the
county or some that are run by private businesses.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Correct. Yeah, because these batteries are quite hazardous, and these
fires that can be they're the number one cause of
fires in the sol waste industry. There's so many devices
that have them, from your power tools, your gaming equipment,
even those greeting cards that have that play music or
you record a voice and can have a lithium button
cell battery in it, hearing aids and cell phones and
(02:32):
of electronic smoking devices. All these items now everywhere and
every day, and they seem so prevalent that you might
not realize actually they have a battery, or that the
battery could be hazardous.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Now, let's talk about some of the other waste that
is created over the holidays. Of course, the biggest example
is the Christmas tree that you want to get out
of a house as soon as you can after the
season ends. If it's a natural tree, particularly because that
try tinder can create a problem. But disposing of it
(03:04):
also creates a problem for the solid waste authorities tell
us about that and tell us the right way to
do it.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, so if you have a live Christmas tree, you
can treat it like any regular yard waste and you
can put it at your curb. Make sure it's cutting
under four feet sections less than six inch diameter, remove
all the tinsil and ornaments and your treasured memories that
are on the tree. So it's just the tree that's
left at the curb, and we will actually mulch that
(03:32):
and dispose it for you that way. But you can
also turn into a habitat in your own backyard if
you want to let it naturally decompose and let birds
and other animals and actually let nature do its thing
in your own backyard with the tree.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's good to know as well. Now, even the lights
on the Christmas tree can sometimes cause a problem for
solid waste. Tell us about that. I thought, first of all,
I thought that people always use their lights again year
to year. But apparently there are some problems with bulbs
and things like that. So tell us about how to
the best deal with that issue.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yes, I'm glad you bring that up. So when you're
plugging in your lights and you see that a light
or bulb doesn't work, you might be attempt you might
feel attempted to recycle it because it's got metal in it. Right. Unfortunately,
string lights, Christmas lights, holiday lights are not recyclable curb side.
They can seriously damage and tangle our sorting equipment, so
you can safely put them in the trash, or go
(04:27):
to a scrap metal company business or one of the
community collection centers the county operates, and we will recycle
the metal for you that way, just not curbside.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Now. Another issue that comes up, of course, is the
packages that these Christmas presents come in, and sometimes the
presence themselves in. You know, the first thought is, okay,
that big box you can break down and put into recycling,
But what are some of the issues that you run
into and what are the best ways to deal with
(04:57):
that packaging?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
So your grip gifts can come in wrapping paper, boxes, bags,
So if it's in wrapping paper, you can safely recycle
the paper if it tears and feels like paper. But
if it's metallic and foilly and glittery and glossy and
bows and all that stuff, you can put it right
in the trash. If your goodies come in boxes, cardboard boxes,
make sure they're flattened and broken down and they fit
(05:21):
in the recycling bin. Otherwise you can cut them in
half and make them smaller to fit easier that way.
Make sure you remove any styrofoam or pobaly styrene blocks
or packing peanuts or those air pillows, all that stuff
that's not recyclable, make sure you put that in the trash.
And so it's only the cardboard that's left over in
the recycling bin.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So it all comes down really to knowing what is
recyclable and what isn't and putting everything in the right
bin accordingly, and knowing what needs to be taken down
to a collection center.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Oh yeah, and you can check all of our recycling
rules online at HCFL dot gov forlor slash recycling. And
if you live in the city of Tampa and you're
hearing this, or even across Tampa Bay, you can go
to Tampa Bay recycles dot org to find your rules.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
All good information. Daniel Gallagher, project manager with Hillsborough's Solid
Waste Department, talking to us about what to do with
lithium ion batteries and all the other trash and waste
that is created by our celebration of the season. Daniel Gallagher,
thank you for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Thank you so much.
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. Well, as you're hearing this,
it's likely at or after the holidays, and we're at
the end of the year and moving into twenty twenty six,
and many people have opened up their Christmas presents already
and many of those presents use lithium ion batteries. Eventually
those batteries or others will reach the end of their
(00:20):
lifespan and that can create a big problem for the
people who deal with your solid waste and all the
garbage and trappings and leftovers from the holidays, and we're
going to talk about ways of dealing with that and
other solid waste issues that are created by the holidays.
Daniel Gallagher is project manager with the Hillsborough Solid Waste
(00:40):
Department and he joins us right now on Beyond the News.
Daniel Gallagher, welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Thank you for having me, Gordon, and of.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Course you provide the services for the unincorporated areas of
Hillsborough County surrounding Tampa and Plant City and places like that. Now,
starting off with the issue with lithium ion battery when
people dispose of those, what are some of the errors
they make and what are the ways that they're supposed
to dispose of lithium ion batteries in Hillsborough County.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, as you mentioned, these batteries are found in so
many different items around your house and devices, and whether
you're the devices is done with or you're looking to
get rid of the batteries because you don't do with it. Unfortunately,
they're placed in the garbage or the recycling then and
then they get lost in the back of that truck,
they get punctured, they get compressed, they get damaged, and
(01:33):
they spark and start a fire a bunch of flammable
material like paper and plastics back there, and it only
takes one lithium ion battery to start a fire. So
residents of Hillsborough County can come to any one of
the county's solid waste community collection centers to drop up batteries,
or a number of stores actually take back batteries, and
that'd be more convenient for you as you're doing your
(01:54):
shopping and your returns and everything like that.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
So do not dump your lithium ion battery in the trash.
Take them to a disposal center, either run by the
county or some that are run by private businesses.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Correct. Yeah, because these batteries are quite hazardous, and these
fires that can be they're the number one cause of
fires in the sol waste industry. There's so many devices
that have them, from your power tools, your gaming equipment,
even those greeting cards that have that play music or
you record a voice and can have a lithium button
cell battery in it, hearing aids and cell phones and
(02:32):
of electronic smoking devices. All these items now everywhere and
every day, and they seem so prevalent that you might
not realize actually they have a battery, or that the
battery could be hazardous.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Now, let's talk about some of the other waste that
is created over the holidays. Of course, the biggest example
is the Christmas tree that you want to get out
of a house as soon as you can after the
season ends. If it's a natural tree, particularly because that
try tinder can create a problem. But disposing of it
(03:04):
also creates a problem for the solid waste authorities tell
us about that and tell us the right way to
do it.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Yeah, so if you have a live Christmas tree, you
can treat it like any regular yard waste and you
can put it at your curb. Make sure it's cutting
under four feet sections less than six inch diameter, remove
all the tinsil and ornaments and your treasured memories that
are on the tree. So it's just the tree that's
left at the curb, and we will actually mulch that
(03:32):
and dispose it for you that way. But you can
also turn into a habitat in your own backyard if
you want to let it naturally decompose and let birds
and other animals and actually let nature do its thing
in your own backyard with the tree.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's good to know as well. Now, even the lights
on the Christmas tree can sometimes cause a problem for
solid waste. Tell us about that. I thought, first of all,
I thought that people always use their lights again year
to year. But apparently there are some problems with bulbs
and things like that. So tell us about how to
the best deal with that issue.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yes, I'm glad you bring that up. So when you're
plugging in your lights and you see that a light
or bulb doesn't work, you might be attempt you might
feel attempted to recycle it because it's got metal in it. Right. Unfortunately,
string lights, Christmas lights, holiday lights are not recyclable curb side.
They can seriously damage and tangle our sorting equipment, so
you can safely put them in the trash, or go
(04:27):
to a scrap metal company business or one of the
community collection centers the county operates, and we will recycle
the metal for you that way, just not curbside.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Now. Another issue that comes up, of course, is the
packages that these Christmas presents come in, and sometimes the
presence themselves in. You know, the first thought is, okay,
that big box you can break down and put into recycling,
But what are some of the issues that you run
into and what are the best ways to deal with
(04:57):
that packaging?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
So your grip gifts can come in wrapping paper, boxes, bags,
So if it's in wrapping paper, you can safely recycle
the paper if it tears and feels like paper. But
if it's metallic and foilly and glittery and glossy and
bows and all that stuff, you can put it right
in the trash. If your goodies come in boxes, cardboard boxes,
make sure they're flattened and broken down and they fit
(05:21):
in the recycling bin. Otherwise you can cut them in
half and make them smaller to fit easier that way.
Make sure you remove any styrofoam or pobaly styrene blocks
or packing peanuts or those air pillows, all that stuff
that's not recyclable, make sure you put that in the trash.
And so it's only the cardboard that's left over in
the recycling bin.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So it all comes down really to knowing what is
recyclable and what isn't and putting everything in the right
bin accordingly, and knowing what needs to be taken down
to a collection center.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Oh yeah, and you can check all of our recycling
rules online at HCFL dot gov forlor slash recycling. And
if you live in the city of Tampa and you're
hearing this, or even across Tampa Bay, you can go
to Tampa Bay recycles dot org to find your rules.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
All good information. Daniel Gallagher, project manager with Hillsborough's Solid
Waste Department, talking to us about what to do with
lithium ion batteries and all the other trash and waste
that is created by our celebration of the season. Daniel Gallagher,
thank you for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Thank you so much.
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