Your Guide to an Enlightened Holiday Season

environmentaly friendly gifts

Each year, more than 25% more waste is generated during the holiday season than any other time throughout the year. This 25% means an increase in trash by 1 million tons per week, or 5 million extra tons between Thanksgiving and New Years! By practicing the following simple, earth–friendly behaviors, we can significantly reduce the amount of garbage that is landfilled during the festive season. Facts on Holiday Waste

gifts and packaging

Gifts and Packaging

Make a commitment not to buy any wrapping paper or ribbons this year. You will be surprised at how many options you have to make your gifts look great. Use old magazines, maps, used bows, old card fronts, extra photos and anything else you find piled up in your house to wrap gifts. Instead of ribbons, you may consider placing a flower or a sprig of holly on the top as decoration. Colorful or patterned boxes or bags are also nice because they look festive without being wrapped at all and you can use them over and over. The options are endless once you start thinking creatively! Gifts and Packaging

Holiday Cards

The amount of cards sold during the holiday season, 1.9 billion, would fill a football field 10 stories high, and requires the harvesting of nearly 300,000 trees. A few creative solutions and purchasing ideas could drastically reduce that amount while still allowing you to keep in touch with your loved ones.

  • Purchase renewed cards while helping abused, abandoned and neglected children from St. Jude's Ranch for Children.

    St. Jude's Ranch for Children
    100 St. Jude's Street
    Boulder City, NV 89005–1618
    1–800–492–3562

    St. Judes is not currently accepting more cards due to their backlog, but you can donate cards to RAFT, a resource center that supplies schools and nonprofits. Please follow these directions: Cut off the backs of the cards (they only want the fronts) put them in a big envelope and mail them to:

    RAFT
    1355 Ridder Park Drive
    San Jose, CA 95131

  • Cut out old cards and use them for gift tags.

  • Save the cards you receive to cut and create new ones next year. Make cute envelopes from magazines. Click here for directions

  • E–greetings are a fun and informal alternative to traditional holiday cards. The following are some examples of what is available on the internet:
    http://www.americangreetings.com/
    http://greetings.yahoo.com/
  • If you are going to purchase cards for the holidays, make sure you look for the recycled content symbol, and recycle the cards that you receive. View a listing of local stores that sell recycled cards. (Search under Paper: Greeting Cards)

Food Waste/Party Planning

More than 28 billion pounds of food are thrown out each year, approximately 100 pounds per person. To reduce the amount of food and paper products you or your family discard this season, try the following:

  • Practice portion control. Not every member at dinner will consume 3 helpings of stuffing.

  • Ask for RSVP's so that you know how many to cook for. You can also provide a menu along with invitations, to allow guests to choose what main dish they would like. This will reduce the need to have multiple options available for everyone.

  • Turn the heat down before guests arrive. You'll save energy and your guests' body heat will warm up the room.

  • Send your guests home with leftovers or bring food you can't finish to work.

  • Use reusable tableware; if you don't have enough, borrow or rent.

  • Use cloth tablecloth and napkins.

  • Decorate with plants, fabrics and other greeneries instead of plastic streamers, Mylar decorations, etc.

  • Use last year's holiday cards as place cards.

  • Set up an area to recycle bottle and cans and place food scraps for compost.

  • See no waste party for additional tips on how to reduce waste at your holiday gatherings.

Trees

If Christmas trees are a part of your holiday celebration, here are some important facts to consider when purchasing your tree.

  • Buy a live tree. This way you can replant your tree or donate it to be replanted, and allow it to continue living. For donation locations contact RecycleWorks at 1-888-442-2666.

  • Buy an artificial tree. Artificial trees can be purchased for prices that are comparable to real trees, and look amazingly like the real thing. An artificial tree can be used for several years, if stored properly.

  • Some Christmas tree recyclers do not accept flocked trees. Flocked trees cannot be made into compost due to their chemical content. However, Allied Waste of San Carlos, and Ox Mountain Landfill will accept flocked trees for other use. See tree recycling chart for further details.

  • Try alternatives to tinsel, such as strands of popcorn or icicle lights. If you do choose tinsel, make sure that you remove all of it before recycling the tree. Tinsel cannot be recycled.

If you choose to buy a pre–cut tree, adhere to the guidelines above, and please, recycle it.

To find out where and how to recycle your tree in San Mateo County, please see our tree recycling information sheet.

Energy

Between Thanksgiving and New Years, Americans boost their electricity consumption by 27%. RecycleWorks encourages you to buck the trend.

  • Consolidate shopping trips. Plan in advance, and include friends or family who may also need to go out.

  • Bring your own reusable shopping bags, and instead of getting a new bag at each store, combine gifts into larger bags.

  • Buy LED light bulb strands, they use very little electricity and give off no heat, increasing safety and saving energy.

  • When buying electronics that require batteries, buy rechargeable batteries and a battery recharger to go with them.

  • If you are making large appliance and electronic purchases, look for the ENERGY STAR® logo. By using ENERGY STAR®, the average household can save up to $400 on annual utility bills.

  • Get outdoor light strands wired in parallel. They have separate circuitry so if one bulb blows, the rest keep shining.

Most of all, have a safe and happy holiday season.