"Tis the season to be jolly, and unfortunately, it"s also a time to toss out a lot of trash.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that between Thanksgiving and New Year"s Day, household trash increases by 25%. Thankfully, this doesn"t have to be the case in The American Dream City, with many resources available to residents.

Here are five ways to recycle waste in Arlington this holiday season.

1. Recycle grease from fried turkeys.

Don"t be a turkey, recycle your fats, oil, and grease properly this Thanksgiving. Large amounts of cooking oil can be taken to the Tierra Verde Golf Club,7005 Golf Club Dr. The cooking oil will be used to create biodiesel to fuel the golf club"s lawnmowers. Cooking oils can also be taken to the Environmental Collection Center, 6400 Bridge St. Fort Worth. Be sure not to pour fats, oil, or grease down drains or into garbage disposals. When disposing of them, use a paper towel to soak them up or put them in a plastic bag or concealed container before throwing them in the trash. For more information, click here.

2. Participate in Arlington"s leaf recycling program.

As the colors change and the leaves fall, take advantage of Arlington"s leaf recycling program, which runs from November 21, 2015 through February 21, 2016. Leaf recycling helps save space in the Arlington landfill. Arlington residents can bag their leaves and drop them off at the following locations:

• Arlington Landfill-800 Mosier Valley Rd.
• UTA baseball parking lot on Mitchell St. east of Fielder Rd. - no contractors
• Bowman Springs Park-7003 Poly Webb Rd. - no contractors
• S.J. Stovall Park-2800 W. Sublett Rd. - no contractors

3. When possible, avoid purchasing gifts with excessive or hard-to-dispose-of packaging.

Cardboard boxes may be recycled in curbside carts as long as they fit. Boxes too large must be cut into smaller pieces in order to be put inside the carts. Boxes placed on the ground beside recycling carts can not be collected by the recycling truck. However, these larger boxes can be dropped off in the recycling dumpster containers outside the public libraries.

4. Recycle wrapping paper and greeting cards.

The holiday season means gift giving for many people, and with gift giving comes a lot of waste. While you may have a designated family member to collect the wrapping paper at your holiday party, don"t just stuff it in a black trash bag and call it a day. Most of it can be recycled! Wrapping paper is recyclable in curbside carts, as long as it doesn"t have tape, ribbons, or decorations still attached to it. Foiled wrapping paper cannot be recycled. Greeting cards and envelopes are also recyclable, as long as they are not foiled and are not musical.

5. Recycle Christmas trees December 26, 2015 through January 11, 2016.

Perhaps you didn"t know that even that Christmas tree you chopped down in the forest (or picked out in the Home Depot parking lot) can be recycled. To recycle a Christmas tree, drop it off at Calloway"s Nursery, 4940 S. Cooper St., or at the public convenience center at the Arlington Landfill, 800 Mosier Valley Rd. All ornaments, lights, tree stands, and plastic bags must be removed. Live Christmas trees placed curbside will be collected with regular trash. If the tree is taller than 5 ft., please cut it in half prior to placing it curbside. For more information, click here.