Holiday Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Reminders

Reducing waste during the holiday season

Did you know that waste increases more than 25% during the holiday season? That’s a lot of trash going to the landfill! But there are many things we can do in our daily life to help decrease that number. Read through for some tips, tricks, and ideas to help reduce your impact on holiday waste this season.

• Gift experiences- ‘Tis the season of giving. There are some really great ways to reduce waste when you are looking to give during the holidays. Gifting an experience can be a great way to reduce waste. There are so many options from memberships to local organizations, massages, theater, concerts, cooking classes, wine tastings, dance classes, art classes, comedy shows, farm tours, and so many more! Not only does gifting an experience over a tangible item reduce waste, it also creates fun new memories for the recipient.
• Re-gift and shop used- Did you receive a gift or gift card that just isn’t for you? Regifting to someone who will appreciate the gift is a great option for reducing waste. If regifting isn’t a good fit, consider donating the item instead of throwing it away. Shopping used for the holidays may seem a bit out of the norm for some, but it is a great sustainable option when shopping for the holidays. In Henderson County we are lucky to have a plethora for great shops to browse. You never know what you may find!
• Shopping reimagined- A lot of waste around the holidays comes from packaging waste, from in person shopping, shipping, packaging, and more. You can reduce your waste when shopping by bringing reusable bags with you, shopping locally, and being mindful of the packaging the items you’re purchasing comes in. Is the packaging reusable, recyclable, or will it end up in the trash?
• Wrapping gifts- Wrapping gifts and watching loved ones open their gifts can be an exciting part of the holidays but it unfortunately can come with a lot of waste. Consider some more sustainable options when wrapping gifts this year like wrapping in fabric, wrapping in newspaper or paper from packages you’ve received, reusing gift bags, bows, ribbon, and repurposing old baskets, boxes, or packaging. There are many ways to spruce up these items to make them more festive like decorating with natural items from dried oranges, pinecones, or foliage to creating homemade stamps for adding a festive element to plain paper packaging. As you unwrap gifts this year, don’t forget to think about the future and save items that can be reused like bags, ribbons, bows, and other packaging and wrapping items.
• Trees, wreaths, garland, and other decorations- For the holidays many families may choose to adorn their homes with festive décor. When taking these items down for the season, remember to reduce waste by saving and reusing what you can for the following year, donating items you no longer want, and repurposing or recycling items if you can. For real trees, garland, and wreaths don’t throw them in the trash. These items can be composted, turned into mulch, or placed in your backyard for wildlife to use. Just be sure to remove all decorative items, lights, tinsel, ornaments, wire, or other added items first.
• Recycling- During the holidays there are many items that we can recycle. After you have looked to reduce waste, reuse, and repurpose next think about what items you can recycle. Recycling helps to limit how much waste is sent to the landfill and recycled items can be made into something new. Household recycling will include plastics, metals, glass, paper, and cartons. Recyclable plastics are bottles, tubs, jugs, and jars. Recyclable metals are cans. Recyclable glass are bottles and jars. Recyclable papers are flattened cardboard, paper tubes, paper bags, mail, newspaper, plain cards, plain gift wrap, and more. Recyclable cartons are food and beverage cartons. Empty and rinse recyclable items before putting out for curbside pick up or bringing to the Convenience center. In addition to these standard household recyclable items, there are many other items that can be accepted for recycling at drop locations like the Convenience center or other specialty drop off locations throughout the County. For a more exhaustive list of accepted items visit HCRecycles.org.
• Composting- Food waste increases drastically around the holiday season. There are a lot of great ways to help to reduce food waste including surveying your fridge and pantry before grocery shopping, creating a good grocery list, sending home leftovers with guests (bonus points if you ask them to bring reusable containers for leftovers), freezing food you are not planning on eating right away, saving vegetable scraps and bones to make broth, and composting. If you have a backyard compost bin you can compost fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, etc. If you are unable to compost at home, you can bring your leftovers, scraps, and food waste to the Convenience Center where it will be composted on site. The Convenience Center can accept a wide range of food items for composting including fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, dairy, leftovers, baked goods, greasy pizza boxes, etc. Be sure to remove any contamination before dropping off your food scraps. No plastic, foam, foil or other non-organic items are accepted.

There are many ways to reduce waste and be more sustainable around the holidays. The above are just some things you and your family may want to consider when thinking about the holiday season. Remember that little changes make a big difference over time, this year consider picking one or two sustainable swaps for your home and family. Not sure where to start? Visit HCRecycles.org for more information or call Environmental Programs at 828-694-6524.

Happy Holidays!