Greening up the Holidays

It is estimated that almost 25 million tons more waste is created over the holidays during the period from Thanksgiving to New Years- a 10 week period. The 25% extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!

In the U.S. alone, annual trash from gift-wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons. (Use Less Stuff, 1998)

38,000 miles of ribbon is thrown out each year. To put this into perspective....The Earth's circumference is 25,000 miles.

We also use an extraordinary amount of additional electricity during the holiday season. A 2003 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy determined that Americans consume about 2220 GWh of electricity each holiday season by using standard incandescent holiday lights. The study concluded that a mere 20% switch by American households to LED Christmas lights would save 440 GWh of electricity during the estimated 30 day holiday season.

The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one card less, we’d save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.

In 2007, 31.3 million trees real trees costing $1.3 billion were purchased

In 2006 $9.3 billion was the amount spent on new holiday decorations.

$1.2 billion - Value of Christmas ornaments imported from China in 2005 - America’s No. 1 foreign supplier.

$39 million - Value of imported Chinese nativity scenes and figures in 2006.

$130 million on plastic Christmas trees from China in 2006.



Decking the White House halls in 2007

Number of decorated trees in the White House: 33

Number of Christmas Cards Sent by President and Mrs. Bush: 895,000

Feet of garland strung throughout the first mansion: 862

Red ornament balls: 4,638

Wreaths in the White House: 232


In 1981 the average household received 59 mail order catalogues, and by 1991 the number
had increased 140%, to 142? If every household canceled 10 mail-order catalogues it would reduce trash by 3.5 pounds per year? (If everybody did this, the stack of canceled catalogues would be 2,000 miles high!)

So how to cut down on some of the excess?


Cards:

• Send e-greetings to family, friends and business associates who are on-line.

• Reduce mail volume by updating and paring down your holiday card list.

• Buy recycled-content cards and envelopes or make your own cards out of last year's cards and the wrapping paper you saved.
• www.taraluna.com
• store.gxonlinestore.org
• www.redrivercatalog.com

• Make gift tags from last year's holiday cards.

It's a wrap:

• Wrap a gift in a drawstring bag. Wine bottle bags can hold a myriad of items.
  

• Use brown paper grocery bags to wrap small-to-medium size boxes that have to be mailed.

• Fold and store boxes for next years gifts.

• Unbuttered popcorn for packing in lieu of Styrofoam peanuts.

• Thrift store tea pots can hold small items or cash.

• Use a jewelry box for some flea market 'jewels.'

• Creative wrapping paper substitutes include used blueprint paper, old maps, newspapers, the Sunday comics, kids’ art work or even the sports section for a sports enthusiast. Design your own wrapping paper using paper shopping bags: decorate them with paints, crayons, or markers.

• Gifts for a child can go in a new backpack.

• If you use traditional gift wrapping, look for recycled-content wrapping paper. Some online stores to get you started
• www.papermojo.com
• Fish Lips Paper Designs
• www.paperorganics.com
• www.pristineplanet.com
• www.dunwoodybooth.com
  

• Use a knit hat or scarf to wrap a small gift.
  

• When giving oversized gifts instead of wrapping them in paper, just tie a bow around them.

Gifts:

• Gift certificates

• Home-cooked meals or baked goodies and candies are almost always welcomed.

• Tickets to a sporting event, movie, play, or concert, house plants, or even gifts of your own time.

• Make a charitable donation in someone's name.

• When you go shopping bring your own reusable bags.

• Think durable and consider the longevity of the gift; cheaper isn't necessarily better.

• And, always remember to look for items made with recycled content.

• For the handyman, wrap a gift in a tool box.

• For the fisherman, put the gift in a tackle box or creel

• Any kitchen gift can be wrapped in a colorful dish towel, oven mitt or linen napkin.

• Place home-baked cookies in a flower pot, reusable tin box, childs lunch box, a kitchen container.

• Use a colorful tablecloth to wrap dishes or dining room gifts.

• For a reader, wrap a book in a reusable canvas tote.

• Wrap tools for a gardener in the pocket of an apron, planter, or bucket.

• Hang earrings, bracelets, or necklaces on the Christmas tree, or put them inside or around an open ornament. Use stuffed animal to adorn the neck with jewels.

• Search the flea market, garage sales, and thrift stores for interesting old boxes that can be used as decorative packages.

• And don't forget to look for toys, books, and other products made from recycled materials!

Etc.

• Turn down the heat before the party guests arrive. The extra body heat of your guests will warm up the room.

• Consider renting or borrowing seldom worn party clothes or buying them from consignment shops.

• How about renting dishes and glassware or scouting the local Goodwill for your holiday party decor.

• Walk to neighborhood parties, or carpool with friends if it’s too far to walk.

• Plan meals carefully and practice portion control to minimize waste and leftovers:

The average American spends $800 on gifts over the holiday season with 70% of Americans welcoming less emphasis on gift giving and spending. (Center for a New American Dream).

Maybe it's time to ask your friends and family if they are part of that 70% and scale back this year. After all the holidays not about lights, wrapping paper, or competitive hype...they are about spending time with those you love.


Sources: BIGResearch, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Harper’s Index, The Joy of Cooking, Department of Defense, Unity Marketing, National Christmas Tree Association, USDA Economic Research Service, Guinness Book of World Records 2006, US Census, US Department of Commerce, Charity Navigator, Giving Institute, The White House, Gallup, US Postal Service.