Go green this holiday season to preserve our planet, save money and reduce stress!
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the amount of household garbage in the United States can increase by 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.
To help lessen your impact — and your stress level — we're offering tips to go green during the holiday season:
- Give experiences instead of stuff to reduce waste from production and packaging of goods.
- Plan your meals and eat your leftovers to reduce food waste (and save money). Compost your food scraps.
- Donate excess food to food banks and old toys to charities.
- Upgrade to energy-efficient LED holiday lights and recycle any old strands of lights.
- Wrap gifts in recycled or reused paper. Get creative and use alternative gift wrapping, such as old calendars, newspaper or posters.
- Make your celebrations zero waste. Use reusable or compostable plates and cutlery.
- Shop locally and walk, bike or take public transportation when possible.
Looking to recycle some specialty items?
Gilman Village's Recology CleanScapes Store accepts certain items from residential customers that can’t be tossed into the curbside recycling carts, such as Styrofoam, household batteries, old textiles, small electronics and appliances. Check the list of accepted items.
In addition to the Recology CleanScapes Store, several retailers and organizations accept old holiday lights, including: