It’s the most wonderful time of the year … to dispose of your waste and recyclables properly! The holiday season is a highly anticipated time of year, and often a busy time for many. Whether you’re preparing to host a gathering or a large meal, stocking up on gift wrapping essentials or securing the perfect gifts for everyone on your shopping list, considerations for the lifecycle of those items—food, paper, plastics, packaging and other materials—is often taken for granted or overlooked.
The holiday season can be considered one of the most wasteful times of the year that puts added pressure on landfills across the globe. According to many sources, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), household garbage in the United States increases by an estimated 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. This large influx is chiefly attributed to higher volumes of food waste from holiday meals, packaging from gifts, wrapping paper, holiday cards, household decorations and other holiday wares.
Here’s a helpful guide and a few actions you can take now to give the gift of sustainability and avoid some of the hidden ways the holiday season can be harmful to the environment.
Food Waste
Dining in over the holidays can be a cozy alternative to going to a restaurant, but discarded food at home can have negative environmental implications. Organic material like food scraps accounts for more than half of methane emissions from landfills, according to another statistic from the EPA. This is caused by food’s ability to break down relatively quickly, and the rapid decay generates methane, a greenhouse gas and leading contributor to the warming of the climate.
So, without any fancy organics recycling equipment what should you do? Aim to limit the total amount of food thrown away by planning for each meal. Prepare portions and total courses or dishes made based on the number of guests you’ll be hosting. Then, store as many leftovers as possible or send them home with your guests in reusable or eco-friendly containers. If you do compost at home or are considering it, composting your food scraps is a powerful way to reduce your trash levels, avoid the landfill and generate a useful byproduct, like soil. Just keep in mind that not every food item or food scrap left over from your holiday meal preparation can be composted. Avoid meat, dairy products, oils and cooked foods, but consider adding nitrogen-rich materials like fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and crushed eggshells to your compost pile.
Packaging and Cards
Reduce waste by recycling your wrapping paper. Plain wrapping paper and bags can be recycled, but if the paper is shiny, glittery or includes foil or velvet textures, it’s likely not suitable for curbside recycling. Most printed gift-wrapping paper without the shiny embellishments or design features is recyclable, but it’s best to check with your municipality to ensure it’s not on the local recycling naughty list. The same rule applies to holiday greeting cards. E-cards sent virtually are the most eco-friendly choice, but plain cards made with recycled materials are also a sustainable option. Otherwise, if the card is primarily made with glitter or glossy paper, don’t try to recycle it.
Tissue paper, another gift-wrapping staple material, is also recyclable in most areas, but check your local guidelines to be sure. If you’re serious about reducing waste come holiday time, consider wrapping gifts with more natural materials or in fabrics that, while not recyclable, can be reused each year. Also, don’t forget to recycle the cardboard boxes that accompany many gifts. If you have the box the gift was shipped in as well, remove the shipping label and break it down before putting it in your recycling bin.
Decorations
Hang on to any festive décor that’s still in decent shape at the end of the season and pack it away to store for next year. For any items you no longer want to keep, think about donating them (assuming they’re in good shape) so they find a second life or second use rather than making a home in a landfill. If your decorations aren’t in a condition to be donated, check what material they’re made of and local recycling guidelines before tossing them in the recycling bin or the trash.
Here’s to spreading cheer, not waste, this holiday season.
