With the holidays approaching we have so many gifts to wrap and cheerful things to think about. It’s a time filled with lots of holiday parties involving fun, food, and lots of clean-up. But, most people don’t think about what this accumulation of trash does to the world. When everyone is throwing a bunch of parties for over a month straight, the effects are extremely detrimental to our planet.
According to a study at Stanford, “Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year's holiday period than any other time of year.” We already produce too much waste during the rest of the year, so all this extra waste is super harmful. Just the extra holiday waste “amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week.” That’s why we did some research to find little ways to help with all the excessive amounts of trash, without changing your holiday plans.
Starting off, recycling what you can any day will make a difference, especially around the holidays. We all have endless packages coming in from online shopping, so make sure to recycle Amazon/other packaging boxes. Try to condense it down before putting it in the recycling bin to save space.
Next up: reusing holiday packaging. “During the Christmas season more than 4 million tons of wrapping paper and shopping bags are thrown away. This accounts for 80% of the excess waste during that period.” To help cut that number down and do your part, save gift bags and tissue paper for reuse! Yes, even tissue paper can be reused. Fold the pieces on a flat surface and they will be good as new for next year.
Wrapping paper is huge around the holidays because who doesn’t love tearing open gifts on Christmas morning?
Most people throw all that wrapping paper into trash cans, but plain wrapping paper can be recycled! Recycling wrapping paper can make a huge difference; just make sure you don’t try to recycle waxy, metallic, or glitter wrapping paper. Additionally, newspaper and other recycled paper works well for wrapping. Even decorated paper bags can be used for a more personalized look. Other options include fabric, reusable bags, and even an inside out chip bag (easy DIYs are online)!
One thing you may not have thought of: tape. Being mindful with the tape you use while wrapping is critical! Consider using compostable paper tape or washi tape instead of scotch tape, which is very hard to break down. Twine is an eco-friendly alternative to tape as well. You can even turn recycled cloth into ribbon and bows if you’re feeling creative.
DIY gifts are always great for the holidays, so head over to pinterest for some inspiration or hit the kitchen for some homemade baked goods. Making and wrapping gifts out of things you have around the house may seem intimidating, but it’s actually quite easy and a lot of fun! Remember: reduce, reuse, recycle!
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