7 Ways to Reduce Your Holiday Waste This Season
Packaging waste is never on display more than during the Holiday season. Our gifts are shipped in packaging, contained in packaging, and then re-wrapped in even more packaging. We hate to see all of those paper and plastic goods filling up trash and recycling bins, so we curated this list of eco-friendly practices our team follows to make celebrating a bit gentler on the planet.
Reuse delivery boxes
It’s officially shipping season, so you likely have a mountain of boxes and box filler sitting in a corner of your garage. Instead of paying for new boxes when you wrap up those gifts, reuse the shipping boxes to give your holiday wrapping an eco-friendly edge. Bonus: collapse the boxes down to use all year long & for next year’s wrapping!
Don’t forget your reusable shopping bags!
With all of the holiday chaos, it can be so easy to forget your reusable bags when you head out to the stores. Do an extra check before you walk out of your house so you don’t have to rely on single-use bags to carry your holiday purchases.
Use reusable table settings
The Holidays are filled with gatherings of friends and family. Never has this tradition been more important than in 2021! As you’re preparing to host, choose to use your reusable place settings instead of opting for the convenience of paper or plastic plates & cutlery. If dishes give you stress, nominate a guest to help you out at the end of the night.
Wrap your gifts in recyclable & reusable materials
Not all wrapping paper is recyclable. Most of that colorful, glittery, shiny packaging will live the rest of its existence out in the landfill instead of being repurposed into new products. Keep your wrapping out of the trash with paper marked as recyclable. At the end of your gift exchange, collect all the ribbons, bows, and bags to use for the next year. Bonus: For even more fun, try decorating your own recyclable wrapping paper by using ink, rubber stamps, and craft paper.
Thrift your gifts & decor
Thrifted Holiday decor doesn’t get enough credit. Amazing, quality lights, ornaments, figurines, and more can be found in local thrift shops across the country. Thrifted purchases make great gifts too, giving new life to items that may have otherwise been thrown away.
Gift experiences not stuff
Give the gift of memories by purchasing experiences for your friends and family. With the hospitality industry still rebounding from the pandemic, it’s never been better to support your local, beloved restaurants, hotels, and attractions by purchasing gift cards.
Buy local
Whether it’s food for parties, decor for your home, gifts for your family, or wrapping paper for your purchases, buy local whenever possible to reduce the carbon footprint of your Holiday activities while supporting your community.
Use this list to inspire your Holiday sustainability practices. We hope you have a wonderful Holiday season filled with warm memories. Happy Holidays, friends.