How to Make Your Holidays as Waste-Free as PossibleNEWS | 23 December 2024The holiday season may be the most wonderful time of the year for many of us, but it’s also one of our most wasteful. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of waste produced by households in the United States can increase by 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Further analysis conducted by the Center for Biological Diversity in 2021 backs up those numbers, estimating that Americans create 5.8 million tons more waste in December than other months. That’s equivalent to the weight of 28,713 Boeing 747 airplanes.
It’s not just the US, though. Look up the stats for many other countries and they tell similar stories—in fact Canada and the UK fare a little worse. The good news is there are things that can be done, and as much as 80 percent of this waste can be reused, repurposed, or recycled.
From gifts and wrapping paper to decorations and food, there are many changes you can make if you’re trying to be more waste-conscious. If you don’t know where to start, WIRED has you covered.
Wrapping Paper Dos and Don’ts
Whatever you wrap your presents in, it's probably getting tossed, so this is a big source of waste. The easiest rule to follow for gift bags and wrapping paper is that simple is better. That means no glitter and no foil. Wrapping paper that's recyclable should be labeled as such these days, but the “crumple test” will help if you're unsure. Crush the paper into a ball, and if it stays crumpled when you let go, it’s likely recyclable. If it bounces back, it’s made of mixed materials and probably can’t be recycled.
If you’re ever in doubt, you really can’t go wrong with brown paper. It’s an affordable but also nostalgic addition to your present pile and can be dressed up with bows (steady on, read below) or even hand-decorated with drawings or stamps for that personal touch.
You could even save the wrapping after opening this year's presents and use it again next year. In fact, if every family in the US wrapped just three presents in reused materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields, according to the WWF. Old newspapers or magazines or even fabric could work well; get some inspiration for the latter from furoshiki, the traditional Japanese art of fabric wrapping.
Of course, if you're not much of a wrapper, or short on time, saving and reusing gift bags that were given to you is also a great and easy way to reduce waste.
Reuse Bows and Ribbons, or Try Something New
The shiny bows and plastic ribbons that may have adorned your presents as a kid really aren’t going to cut it if a waste-free holiday is your goal. They can’t be recycled so they will only end up in landfill. Even a lot of fabric ribbon falls into this category too. So what are your options?
Of course, if you carefully collect and reuse bows and ribbons, that’s a good start. Research from Stanford University found that if every family reused two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could wrap around the whole planet. But there are better options.Author: Scott Gilbertson. Verity Burns. Martin Cizmar. Louryn Strampe. Henri Robbins. Nena Farrell. Lisa Wood Shapiro. Jaina Grey. Boutayna Chokrane. Brenda Stolyar. Source
