[This article was originally published here in November 2016 and has been revised and expanded.]
The holidays are here and soon we'll be handing out gifts! But did you know that by spreading joy to those around us, we're also creating tons of waste?
All that wrapping paper, packaging material, disposable decorations, food waste, and other holiday trash adds up to quite a bit of rubbish, debris, and junk. So, what do you do with it all?
Well, maybe not so unfortunate to receive new things for the holidays perhaps. But getting rid of all the old stuff that the new things are replacing? Well, that's where it becomes unfortunate.
The average American produces 5 pounds of trash per day, or 35 pounds each week. During the holidays, that rises to 6.25 pounds per person per day, or 43.75 pounds each week, according to one source. That's an additional 600 pounds of trash per person, on average, which adds up to more than 18 million extra pounds of waste each year.
The average American will spend around $800 on gifts during the holiday season. Think about how much wrapping paper it would take to wrap up $800 worth of presents. To put it in perspective, half of all the paper Americans buy is used to wrap gifts. With all of that wasted paper, it’s a miracle that there are still enough Christmas trees to go around.
As one blog article noted,
It's estimated that some families spend 60% more of their incomes and generate 30% more household waste over the holiday season. Woah! Trash cans full of holiday food waste, ribbons and bows, packaging, shopping bags, and wrapping paper contribute an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills.
So what can you do to help reduce holiday waste? It’s a lot simpler than you think.
Sure, many of the materials we go through each holiday season have to be disposed of somehow, but there are actually many "green" ways to approach cleaning up and trash removal for the holidays.
For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers these tips for a greener holiday season:
Most people already know to do simply things like putting their Christmas lights on timers to cut down on energy waste, but there are plenty many more ways to have a green Christmas this year.
For example, using recycled fabric for gift wrapping. Wrapping with single-use paper, bows, and strings has a significant and negative impact on our environment after the holiday season. Bows and strings are not recyclable, and neither is foil wrapping paper. But fabric material can be reused or recycled.
Make use of old magazines by creating homemade bows from magazine cut outs. Simply choose the colors, size, and intricacy of the bow to matching it to the style of gift wrap. In addition to being a reused and reusable product, the cost is absolutely nothing but your time.
Other waste that can be approached from a green perspective includes kitchen waste and packaging. As one article points out,
For many families, big dinners are a part of their Christmas tradition. Try to avoid using paper or Styrofoam plates and plastic cutlery.
When it comes to gifts, packaging can be a struggle. Many manufacturers do not create packaging that is easy to recycle. To make things more complicated, even if there is a little recycling symbol with a number in it, that doesn’t always indicate that the item is recyclable. Please look for the following numbers when recycling plastic packaging this Christmas: 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6.
Oddly enough, the ways we celebrate and how we dispose of our holiday waste makes a difference for the planet we all live on.
One of the most encouraging things about 'being green' during the holidays - and throughout the year - is that everyone's contribution makes a difference.
Think about this way: if the total sum of waste generated by Americans adds up to 268 million tons per year - and it does! - that means each and every one of us contributes to that total. By the same logic, if each and everyone of us can decrease our individual contribution of waste, the total sum will decrease, as well.
If we all managed to dispose of just 20 percent less waste, for example, we would collectively help to keep almost 30 million tons of waste out of our landfills each year!
So, what does reducing holiday waste look like? Here's a nifty graphic that illustrates some of the key facts and statistics around best practices:
While not everyone will get to see a white Christmas this year (Sorry, Los Angeles!) we can all have a "green" Christmas. Here are seven great ways to make that happen this year:
Whether your actions are big or small, if we all work together and follow this advice, you could ring in the New Year much more sustainably.
Whether you are cleaning up your home after the Christmas festivities, or preparing for the upcoming New Year's celebration, we can provide you with the tools you need to get rid of unwanted junk. And, best of all, our professional and friendly crew can do the heavy lifting and hauling for you.
Or if you prefer and depending on where you live, you can even load your own trash, debris, and household junk yourself by renting one of our user-friendly MINI Dumpsters.
Either way, we have the best and greenest solutions for you.
After you book an appointment with us, our expert and insured trash and junk removal team will call 15 to 30 minutes before we show up at your home. And once they arrive at your home they'll give you a free estimate based on how much room your junk and trash items take up in our truck.
Then you just point and we’ll haul your holiday trash into our junk removal trucks - and we'll do it all without any hidden fees!
Just make an appointment by booking online above or by calling 1.888.888.JUNK (5865).