The most wonderful (& wasteful) time of the year!
AND some green tips and tricks for avoiding holiday trash!
The holidays are about all sorts of good things: good will, good food, good time with family and friends but when it comes to gift giving, the holidays don’t always have a good impact on the environment.
Americans throw away 25% more trash during the holidays than any other time of year. That adds up to 25 million tons of garbage. That equates to about 1 million extra tons each week!
An estimated 38,000 miles of ribbon are discarded each year, enough to wrap around the Earth.
Around 227,000 miles of Christmas wrapping paper are thrown away every year – from the Earth to the moon.
Those numbers aren’t so…stellar so here are some ways to honor our planet this holiday season:
💲Buy local instead of online. Clicking for Christmas (or any other holiday you are celebrating) creates 4.8 times more packaging waste than in-store purchases and the gift-return rate is higher, creating about 16 million metric tons of CO2 each year. (Environmental Capital Group).
♻️ Pretty Packages are pretty…non-recyclable. Look out for glitter, metallic accents, velvety flocking, and glossy coatings. These materials make paper non-recyclable.
🎁Any paper that’s just paper is curbside recyclable, even if it’s printed. If you can’t reuse paper that may not be recyclable, put it in the garbage. Otherwise, whole bales of material are likely to be rejected at recycling centers. When a giant batch of paper arrives at a recycling facility, even one glittery card can send the whole thing to the landfill.
😢h, Christmas tree
In the United States alone, 25-30 million live trees are purchased each year, with 15–30 million ending up in landfills. Here are a few ways to avoid creating waste and leave live trees to sequester carbon.
Artificial trees “live” forever and require no care. The key is to use it for as long as possible—around 12 years is what it takes to equal the impact of buying a live tree every year.
Live trees are a renewable resource, but the footprint of a tree sent to the landfill is 4x the footprint of one that’s turned into wood chips or used in a bonfire.
Potted trees can be rented and returned for replanting.
Feast with the Least Waste
Make a shopping list and stick to it. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that 30-40% of our food supply goes to waste every year, with the most losses during the holiday season. Don’t overbuy.
Set up waste stations. If you have the option, compost uneaten food and provide a recycling bin too.
Gather containers and offer leftovers to your guests, save some for yourself and freeze the extras.
If you did overbuy, donate packaged food to your local food bank.
Green Giving
on the Waterfront
Green giving can mean something that is sustainably made or upcycled but green giving can stretch beyond the object. Green giving can be about experiences. Classes and tickets to unique events can all fall into the sustainable category. Items that encourage the receiver to slow down, rest or enjoy can be help reduce carbon footprint. “Slow-moving” items like art, books, or vintage items often have a longer relationship with the receiver. Gifts like stationery or special teas are meant to slowly and personally used or passed along.
The Waterfront is loaded with holiday gift giving options - and sustainable ones aren’t that hard to find so if you’re out green-gift-gathering, do a little link looking and maybe take a stroll to a few of these brick & morters.
10,000 Villages / Fair Trade Gifts
Sound Garden / Upcycled music
Saints & Sinners / Tattoo parlor
How Great Thou Art / Upcycled Art
The Spice & Tea Exchange of Fells Point
FOBA Refillery / Common Goods Refillery
A Day in June Vintage / Vintage
And may your holidays be warm and bright…bright green, that is!
