With holiday gift-giving likely to generate lots of cardboard boxes, residents are reminded that cardboard is a recyclable material and must be put in the green recycling carts for removal from the curb on your trash collection day.

If your green recycling cart is too full and you cannot fit the cardboard into it, you must break down the cardboard to a size that can be re-loaded into your green cart after the green cart has been emptied by the recycling contractor once.

The automated arms of the recycling trucks cannot pick up loose items; they can only pick up the green cart.

The recycling contractor will get out of the truck after the cart has been emptied once, and place the cardboard into the cart, and then lift the cart for a second time. But this is not possible unless the cardboard is broken down, and bundled or tied to be able to fit into the cart.

And while leaving correctly broken down and bundled and tied cardboard at the curb is acceptable on occasion, if this happens regularly, you may be required to lease an additional recycle cart for a one-time fee of $55.

Residents are also reminded not to put trash in cardboard boxes. Trash in cardboard boxes will not be picked up by the trash contractor.