Yes! The holidays are a great time of the year to put your recycling skills to work, from all that wrapping paper to gift boxes and even our Christmas trees—if you are using a real tree.

And, in the holiday spirit of giving, the County Department of Public Works would like to give you some tips on what to recycle and how to do it properly. That way you can even give something back to Mother Earth in this season of giving.

Christmas Trees

We all love our beautiful Christmas trees. But if you’re using a real tree, there eventually comes a time to say goodbye. The County is here to let you know how to recycle it the right way.

Properly recycled trees and wreaths can be turned into mulch that will improve soil health and help soil retain moisture at our parks, farms, home gardens and landscapes. Recycling them also keeps them from going into the trash where they can unnecessarily fill up landfills and generate unwanted climate-changing greenhouse gases as they decompose.

So, check with your waste hauler to find out if they offer curbside pickup. Many of them do.  Or go to the County’s recycling and hazardous waste database, WastefreeSD.org, to find Christmas tree drop-off sites near you. It’s easy.

Type “Christmas tree” in the “find an item” box, add your ZIP code, community and how you heard about the site, and you’ll see all the drop-off locations near you.

Finally, remember, never leave your old dry tree or wreaths lying in the backyard where they can become dangerous fire hazards.

Know What Packaging Can — and Can NOT — be Recycled

Online shopping and gift-giving typically means lots of packaging, and a lot of stuff to recycle. But not all packaging can be recycled. For example, cardboard boxes and kraft paper can be recycled (just break them down and put them in your blue recycling bin). But other items can’t — manila envelopes, padded plastic mailers, bubble-wrap and traditional gift-wrapping materials including metallic wrapping paper, wrapping paper with glitter, ribbons, bows, twine, tissue paper and cellophane. So please DO NOT put them in your blue recycling bins; consider re-using them instead. Here’s a link to learn more about how to Recycle Right, during the holidays and every day.

Christmas and Holiday Card Recycling

Like packaging materials, not all holiday cards should be added to your recycling. Simple paper cards and envelopes can be added to your blue bins. But cards that have glitter, foil, metallic inks (inks made with tiny metal flakes) or other adornments can’t. If there’s a glitzy front and plain paper backing, tear the cards in two. Recycle the backs and put the glitzy fronts into the trash.

Holiday Light Recycling

Please — don’t put old holiday lights in your recycling bins. They can tangle up recycling equipment and they also pose a danger to workers in those recycling centers. For recycling options, please visit WasteFreeSD.org, or contact a scrap metal or e-waste recycler.

The program would aim to preserve the county’s natural environmental character and unique plant life, reduce water use, stormwater pollution and protect animals from the effects of climate change.

The multi-year program will begin with creating a website where people can learn more about native plants, developing educational materials for the public and professional landscapers, and installing demonstration gardens at County buildings. The program would ultimately create incentives to encourage people to use native plants, offer ready-made landscaping templates to incorporate their use, and create a native plant landscaping design manual.

Native plants such as the beautiful California buckwheat, lilacs, oaks and sages that grow wild around the backcountry evolved here over thousands of years. That means they naturally need less water than plants, like non-native flowers and non-indigenous plants that originated in rainier climates. Native plants also provide natural habitat for native animals and pollinating insects.

“These native plants are really what makes San Diego County our county,” said Board Chair Nathan Fletcher, who forwarded the idea of developing a native plant policy with Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer in 2021.

“They’re a real asset,” Fletcher said. “They don’t just foster biodiversity, provide habitat, facilitate our habitat corridors, (provide) drought management and stormwater reduction. There’s a lot of really important reasons why the work and action we’re taking here is important. Not to mention we have some incredibly beautiful plants that really add a feel to our environment and are a constant reminder of the incredible natural resources that are unique to us here in San Diego.”

Lawson-Remer said the native plant program could also benefit the county’s regional economy by expanding the market for landscape design and nursery production.

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the emergency use of the updated Pfizer and Moderna bivalent booster vaccines for children as young as six months. The FDA previously expanded availability to include 5- to 11-year-olds in October. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and California Department of Public Health quickly recommended vaccinations for young children after the FDA approval.

“We can now provide additional protection for children as young as six months of age from COVID-19,” said County Public Health Officer Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H.  “This is especially important with the high incidence of COVID-19 in our community. Please take advantage and have your children vaccinated to protect them and the rest of your family.”

County residents continue to deal with a triple threat of respiratory diseases this winter season, from COVID-19 to the flu to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Public Health officials still strongly urge people to get vaccinated for both COVID-19 and the flu.

The bivalent COVID-19 booster and flu vaccinations are separate shots, but they can be given at the same visit. They effectively decrease the chances of getting infected, being hospitalized, or dying from the separate viruses that each vaccine targets. Boosters are available through healthcare providers and at participating pharmacies. Parents can visit the state’s My Turn website to schedule an appointment.

County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency began offering boosters for children as early as six months age today. Booster dose availability is listed on the County’s COVID-19 vaccinations schedule webpage.

The updated boosters were designed to protect individuals from the worst outcomes of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. Everyone six months of age and older who has had their primary vaccination series is eligible to get the updated booster two months following any COVID vaccine or booster dose.

County officials also recommend wearing a mask if you are able, particularly during indoor public gatherings, to protect yourself and those around you.

In addition to vaccination and masking, San Diegans can take a number of other precautions to protect themselves against COVID-19, as well as seasonal illnesses like the flu. These measures include:

• Cleaning hands thoroughly and often;
• Staying away from sick people;
• Staying home and avoiding contact with others when sick;
• Home testing when exposed or when ill; Regularly cleaning commonly touched surfaces.

Federal Government Makes Free At-home Tests Available Again:

The White House has moved to make free at-home COVID-19 tests available again through the winter for a limited time. Households can order one pack of four free tests through the U.S. Postal Service.  For more information about testing, go to the County of San Diego COVID-19 testing webpage.

COVID-19 Vaccination Progress:

• Close to 2.69 million or 80.4% of San Diegans received the primary series of one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines.
• Bivalent boosters administered: 474,245 or 19% of 2,494,254 eligible San Diegans.
• More vaccination information can be found at coronavirus-sd.com/vaccine. 

COVID-19 Deaths:

• 24 additional deaths were reported since the last report on Dec. 8, 2022. The region’s total is 5,608.
• Of the 24 additional deaths, 14 were women and 10 were men. They died between Jan. 8, 2022, and Dec. 6, 2022. Nine of the newly reported deaths occurred in the past two weeks.
• 12 of the people who died were 80 years or older, four were in their 70s, two were in their 60s, five were in their 50s and one was in their 20s.
• 15 of these people had been vaccinated and nine had not received any COVID-19 vaccines.
• 21 had underlying medical conditions. Three had no underlying medical conditions.

COVID-19 Cases, Case Rates and Testing:

• 4,821 COVID-19 cases were reported to the County in the past seven days (Dec. 6, 2022, to Dec. 12, 2022). The region’s total is now 952,752.
• The 4,821 cases reported in the past week were higher compared to the 5,649 infections identified the previous week (Nov. 29, 2022, to Dec. 5, 2022).
• 6,197 tests were reported to the County on Dec. 10, and the percentage of new positive cases was 10.1% (Data through Dec. 10).
• The 14-day rolling percentage of positive cases, among tests reported through Dec. 10, is 10.1%.

Influenza Activity

The County Health and Human Services Agency now publishes the Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report  weekly. The report is published each Thursday and tracks key respiratory illness indicators, including flu cases and deaths.

For the week ending Dec. 10, 2022, the report shows the following:

• Seven additional flu deaths; the season’s total is now 20.
• Four of the additional flu deaths were women and three were men. They died between Dec. 1, 2022, and Dec. 6, 2022.
• Four of them had received a flu shot this season and three had not.
• All had underlying medical conditions. One of the newly reported deaths was coinfected with COVID-19.
• Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness: 7% of all visits (compared with 10% the previous week).
• Lab-confirmed influenza cases for the week: 1,603 (compared to 2,600 the previous week).
• Total lab-confirmed cases to date: 17,182 (compared to 696 at the same time last season and an 815 prior 5-year average during the same week).

(Source: County of San Diego Communications Office)

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Tuesday’s action comes after the Board of Supervisors and County District Attorney’s office declared fentanyl deaths a public health crisis in late June.

Supervisors asked County staff then to create a plan to address the rapidly increasing numbers of fentanyl overdose deaths, which spiked to 743 people in the county in 2021. That more than quadrupled the rate from 2019 and accounted for more than 70% of all overdose deaths in 2021. 

Accidental fentanyl overdose deaths nationally have become the number one killer of 18-to 45-year-old people, surpassing deaths from car accidents, gun violence, heart disease and COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Board Chair Nathan Fletcher said Tuesday’s action could give the fentanyl crisis the full attention it deserves and hopefully start progress in fighting it.

“I’m completely supportive of everything in (this action),” Fletcher said, “the public health messaging, the Narcan (naloxone) distributions, the rapid response to overdose outbreaks.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was approved for treating severe pain, typically for people suffering from advanced cancer, according to the CDC. 

Fentanyl overdoses and deaths have skyrocketed in recent years as illegal drug markets mix it with heroin and cocaine—without the user’s knowledge.

County Health and Human Services Agency staff told supervisors Tuesday that they will move forward with a four-part strategy to build on the actions the County has already taken to address the problem. 

Conduct Overdose Prevention Education

HHSA will continue outreach that began in 2021, including a fentanyl awareness campaign viewed more than 10 million times featuring billboards, advertisements in six languages, and social media connecting people to County websites with more information. The expanded campaign will include a media campaign focusing on young people, and presentations and naloxone trainings for parents and community groups. Naloxone is an FDA approved medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.

Expand Naloxone Distribution

The County launched an expanded naloxone distribution campaign in July that featured naloxone training and outreach. Starting next year, 12 naloxone vending machines will be installed around the county to help people experiencing overdoses. 

New efforts will include working with local colleges and universities to expand naloxone availability and working with County Emergency Medical Services on efforts to “leave behind” naloxone kits when emergency responders answer drug-related calls.

Early Intervention

Another key early intervention effort will be working with people who are at higher risk of suffering a fentanyl overdose. That would include people who go to emergency rooms and have suffered a non-fatal overdose.

Improve Detections of Outbreaks of Overdoses