Holiday Recycling
Contributor Maddie McBratney is sharing tips to make your holiday season more sustainable!
Photos by Anna Petrow
It’s no secret that the holiday season wreaks havoc on our environment. From gift wrap, to food waste, about 25% more trash is thrown out from Thanksgiving to New Years than the yearly average. That is equal to about 1 million extra tons of trash a week (Stanford University) during the holiday season.
Even taking the proper measures and recycling, much of that recycling still winds up in a landfill. On average, only about 5% of plastic waste is recycled. This is due to a variety of reasons such as plastic food containers not being properly cleaned, recycling centers not being able to recycle the specific kind of plastic, and a general lack of education.
So how can one reduce their waste? We live in a much more eco-conscious society than ever before, but not everyone has the tools or knowledge required to even think about reducing their waste during the holidays. I’ve broken it down into a few categories, with easy, and effective, actionable steps one can take this holiday season to reduce their waste.
Photo by Tessa Cooper
Household Waste:
Utensils such as plastic cups, plastic cutlery, and paper or plastic plates are commonly used for a large holiday gathering. It no doubt makes cleanup easier, but comes at a great cost to our environment. Opt for reusable plates, cups, and utensils, as well as washable cloth napkins. Getting the whole family in on the cleanup can even be a great way to bond and form new traditions.
We’ve all heard the saying that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and that can start at the grocery store. Only buy as much food as you know your family can eat to cut down on waste. Any scraps left over such as bones or bread can be composted. Kansas City Composting will accept scraps such as these, as well as end of the season Christmas trees.
Dish soap, hand soap, and dishwashing detergent all come in plastic containers, and can only be used once. Soap Refill Station, located right next to Waldo Pizza, allows customers to bring in their own containers to purchase items such as soaps and shampoo. That dish soap will look way cuter in a glass jar of your choosing anyway!
Photo by Anna Petrow
Gift Waste:
A first, and very easy step, when attempting to reduce your waste while getting your holiday shop on, is shopping with reusable bags. Reusable bags can be purchased for as little as 99 cents at places such as Trader Joe’s and TJMax, and can last you years worth of shopping. Don’t want to spend that extra money while already spending tons on gifts for the family? No worries! Remember that ever growing collection of plastic grocery bags in your garage? (Yep, we’ve all got it). Those can be reused too!
Photo courtesy of Scraps KC
Consider more eco-friendly alternatives to wrap your gifts this holiday season. ScrapsKC has tons of items one can use such as gently used gift bags, ribbons, and bows. Should you already have a collection of new items, they can be saved and reused next year, or donated to ScrapsKC after use this year. The small, 99 cent bags from Trader Joe’s are also the perfect sized gift bags, and can be given as both a gift and a wrapping substitute. Things such as used tissue paper, or even saved grocery catalogs and newspapers, can be used and still allow for an exciting gift opening experience. Let’s face it, we all just love to tear it apart anyway to get to what’s inside. No need to have the pretty sparkly stuff that’ll get torn up just the same.
Or, you can get really creative– and make the wrapping part of the gift! Scarves and bandanas make for a great way to wrap a present (bonus points if they’re from a local maker)– and instead of waste, the recipient will treasure them for years to come.
Photo by Maddie McBratney
With the holiday season comes the delivery of tons of gift catalogs, some from companies we may have never even heard of before. Consider calling customer support to cancel subscriptions and reduce paper waste and shipping pollution. If you already have a few, one can even use the catalogs as an alternative to wrapping paper!
Understandably, not all of us want to get out in the cold and the crowds to shop in person for the holidays. But while online shopping is arguably one of the greatest inventions since the internet, it greatly increases the amount of waste per package. Delivery boxes can easily be recycled or reused as gift wrap. Those pesky packing peanuts that seem to haunt our landfills can be taken to your local post office and reused. A great option is to look for local vendors that offer pickup times– no lines or crowds, but no shipping, either! Whatever route you take, one thing to keep in mind is the benefits of shopping local. The founders of Made in KC invested in a study to see just how far our dollars go– and the impact is immense. Compared with shopping online from a major retailer like Amazon, where only $1 out of every $100 spent stays in your community, shopping at a locally owned shop keeps $58 out of every $100 spent in KC. And at Made in KC, that number is even higher– an impressive $91 out of $100 stays in Kansas City.
There’s no doubt that change is never easy, especially when it can feel like a disruption to your holiday traditions and experiences. This list may seem overwhelming, or too much to do at once, and that’s okay. Start simple by picking a few ways that you can reduce your waste this holiday season. Use some of the ideas I’ve listed above, or come up with your own! One of the most exciting things to me about reducing waste is the creativity that it allows. Afterall, one of the best gifts that we can give our loved ones is a better tomorrow.
