By Autumn Huggins
Here are a few holiday trash facts for you:
Americans throw away
25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year's holiday season than any
other time of year. This extra garbage amounts to 25 million tons of trash.*
If every family in the
U.S. reused just 2 feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved
could tie a bow around the entire planet.
The 2.65 billion
Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10
stories high. If we each sent one card less, we'd save 50,000 cubic yards of
paper.
* Bob Lilienfeld/The Use Less Stuff Report
http://www.holidayrecycling.com/
So, what to do with
all of the excess?
Well, first thing’s first, perhaps we can be more mindful of
the waste ahead of time, so that we can make some wise decisions while on our
shopping trips. It would be a relief to both our pocketbooks and the local
dumps to buy less than we may normally. If you are like me, as much as you may
try to “do less this year”, you will likely find yourself in the same
predicament this year as you have in the past, so there are a few tips we can
easily incorporate to make a difference during these times of over-indulgence.
No matter what celebrations each home may partake, or if
none at all, these tips should come in handy for any season.
- Buy less…(good luck with
that one)
- Use reusable shopping bags!
This will help at department stores and grocery stores.
- Spend your money on
durable, useful items rather than things that will be useless or broken in
a week.
- Buy recyclable wrapping
paper and packaging materials, and if possible preserve them for another
use. Gift boxes, bows and bags are great for multiple uses…or re-gifting.
- Send electronic cards
instead of paper.
- Give people things that
you no longer want. What is no longer useful to you, may be just what
someone else needs!
- Share your leftover foods
with neighbors, the homeless, or compost.
- Separate and recycle
everything you can. When time is short, we sometimes want to throw
everything away. Taking a few extra minutes for recycling makes a big
difference. In states like Oregon, with a 5 cent bottle return, it pays to
recycle!! If you don’t have time to return the bottles and cans, there are
surely other people who wouldn’t mind taking the task off of your hand.
- Recycle your trees!
According to the EPA, “Approximately 33 million live Christmas trees are
sold in North America every year.” They recommend that you contact your
local community solid waste department to see if they collect and mulch
trees. Many communities offer a pick-up and recycling service for a small
fee, or donation. There is also the option of investing in an artificial
tree which may last throughout generations.
For what essentially
adds up to a few days of celebration, our impact on the environment is much greater
than we realize. Any little thing we can
do is a step in the right direction.
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