Holiday Waste and General Recycling Tips

Now that Christmas is over and things are starting to return to normal, we can redirect our focus to something that, especially at this time of year, demands a little bit of attention. The holiday season with its accompanying buying, wrapping and celebrating substantially increases the amount of solid waste we generate. With a little bit of thought and foresight we can greatly reduce our personal contribution to this excessive waste. Being environmentally friendly does not require a lot of our time or even all that much effort once you get into the habit of it. All it requires is a little bit of thought and maybe being pointed in the right direction. I’m hoping to do just that. Point those interested in the right direction. Below I’ve listed a few ideas for holiday waste and several ideas that can be applied to any time of year.

New gifts often replace appliances and clothes that still have a useful life. Collect these items and donate them to Goodwill, Salvation Army, local churches, day care centers, shelters or charity groups. Maybe your town has a “new and used” shop or a neighborhood yard sale at the beginning of spring.

If at all possible, try not to use wrapping paper. This is difficult, especially during the holiday season, but consider just putting a bow on the gift box or gift bag rather than wrapping the gift itself. You could give your gifts in baskets, tins or jars. If you do have to use wrapping paper consider saving it so it can be shredded and used for filler the next year instead of tissue paper. If/when you do buy gift wrap buy recycled paper with the highest post-consumer content you can find.

Greeting cards are another large contributor to holiday waste. It’s difficult to think of creative ways out of greeting cards, but perhaps clipping them and using them for tags next year is an option. Or, send a postcard instead so you don’t have to use an envelope. Again, look for recycled paper with the highest post-consumer content you can find.

Save your bows, ribbons and paper and use them next year.

Ask mail-order companies who ship your holiday gifts not to use polystyrene packing "peanuts", but to use paper instead.

Compost your kitchen food scraps from holiday dinners and parties. Remember, in yard waste composting, compost fruit and vegetable wastes not meat or grease.

Some communities recycle Christmas trees, chipping and mulching them for compost or landscaping materials. Trees must be free of tinsel, decorations, nails, tacks or any other foreign materials. Check with your town office to see if a tree recycling programs exists in your area. You can use branches as mulch under acid-loving bushes and shrubs, such as rhododendrons or evergreens.

Obviously the main goal in reducing the amount of waste each of us produces is to remember your three R’s. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. If we make a conscious effort to being environmentally friendly then in no time it just becomes habit any time of year.