Waste Reduction Tips for the Holidays
According to Use Less Stuff (ULS), Americans throw away 25 percent more trash during the holidays than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about one million extra tons per week. Much of the 28 billion pounds of edible food thrown away each year is wasted during the holiday season. For more information, go to their Web site at http://use-less-stuff.com/.
There are many things you can do to reduce the amount of waste generated during the holidays. The tips below cover a wide variety of things you can do from reducing paper products used to changing your gift-giving focus.
- Buy holiday cards made from recycled paper or make your own creative cards on recycled paper.
- Be selective when deciding how many holiday cards to send.
- Reuse packaging cartons and shipping materials.
- Buy outdoor light strands that are wired in parallel. If one bulb goes bad, the others still work, so you won’t be throwing away “bad” strands.
- Put all your lights on timers for energy savings and peace of mind while you’re away.
Use those tins you’ve been saving for gift boxes.- Recycle unwanted and duplicated gifts by promptly exchanging them
or giving them to a local charity.
- Plan ahead. Making a list will save time, money and last-minute shopping frenzies.
- Keep it simple: one thoughtful gift is better than six wrapped packages of unwanted gifts.
- Let children know that what you really want does not have to come from a store. Their time is even more valuable. Children can give coupons for their time as Christmas presents in ways such as taking on extra chores, cooking dinners, watching a younger sibling or giving plenty of hugs and kisses.
- Give the gift of an experience - music lessons, lessons for a new hobby, a massage, a trip to a state park, or tickets to a sporting event or play. This is perfect for friends who want to try something new but aren’t willing to spend the money on themselves. Plus, you don’t have to wrap the gift.
- Give a monetary donation to a local charity in someone else’s name. Many people feel good knowing that they are helping out someone during the holidays.
- Invest in your family and friends. Instead of giving a gift, contribute to a child’s savings account, education IRA or give them a U.S. Savings Bond.
- Don’t wrap oversized gifts. Hide them and give the recipient clues. Make the search a treasure hunt.
- Make the wrapping a useful part of the gift; put cookies in a flower pot or hide jewelry in a new pair of gloves or socks. Just make sure that the receiver finds the gift if it’s hidden!
Other sites of interest
Although Ohio EPA cannot sanction or guarantee Web sites from outside organizations, you may want to visit the sites below for more holiday waste reduction tips.