During the holiday season, as the gifts pile up, so does the garbage.
Did you know that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, average household waste increases by more than 25 percent?
Shopping bags, wrapping paper, ribbons, and all that food waste from your holiday party add an extra one million tons each week to our nation’s landfills.
Think about all that gift wrap that goes to waste the moment a present is opened. Believe it or not, if every family reused just two feet of their gift-topping ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved would be enough to tie a neat holiday bow around the entire planet.
Many of us may be going paperless these days, but not when it comes to gift-giving.
Half of all the paper used by American consumers goes towards wrapping and decorating products. That doesn’t even include the 2.6 billion holiday cards that are sold each year in the United States. All of that paper is enough to fill 10 football fields.
If you’re looking for smart ways to reduce waste this holiday season, here are a few ideas:
● Think out of the box when it comes to gift wrap. Instead of traditional wrapping paper, reuse other paper products like old maps, sheet music, or newspaper.
● Send electronic holiday greeting cards via email.
● Regift unwanted presents. Instead of throwing away an ugly sweater or a useless scented candle, take the item to a donation center.
If your New Year’s resolution is to reduce your carbon footprint and to live life more sustainably, why not start now?
Give the gift of a healthy planet this season and all through the year.
