AUSTIN, Texas — If you are one of the millions of people who shopped on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, you may have some gifts coming your way.
“We are expecting this year to be a $9.4 billion online shopping day, which is up 20% from last year," explained RetailMeNot's CEO Marissa Tarleton.
Tarleton said an average consumer will spend about $748 between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“This season, it is six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas because of how late Thanksgiving is this year," said Tarleton. "That creates more franticness."
Austin's Resource Recovery wants you to properly recycle those boxes your gifts are being delivered in.
“You can break them down and place them into your blue bin or, if you have a few of them, you can stack them next to your recycling cart," Austin Resource Recovery Manager of Operations Ron Romero said.
Before you do that, you'll want to make sure the boxes are completely empty.
"In these delivery boxes, you are getting the plastic film, the bubble wrap and maybe styrofoam and packing peanuts," said Romero.
That extra stuff left behind Romero refers to doesn't belong in the blue bin. You can either drop them off at the Recycle and Reuse Drop-Off Center or put it in the trash.
Romero said packing peanuts are just trash and, when people skip these steps, it makes the separation process harder.
"It makes it harder for our processors to make sure they are clean, a lot of the items are hand sorted," said Romero. "We just ask for our residents to be diligent."
Romero added that if you cannot remove the styrofoam or plastic lining, just toss it all in the trash.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: