These months bring annual traditions and events, and I’d like to offer some tips for reducing waste and recycling appropriately.
Wrapping Paper
Reduce: Our family has started wrapping gifts in a new scarf, a dish towel, or cloth bags tied up with a nice ribbon. The wrap itself is an extra gift, and the bags circulate year after year.
Reuse: Extend the life of what you have around the house: packing or butcher paper, newspaper, gift bags, tissue paper, or other items. I keep a box in the basement to hold these items as I receive them.
Recycle: Wrapping paper and cards embedded with foil or glitter go in the garbage. Regular wrapping paper and tissue paper, when it can’t be reused, can be recycled curbside.
Instead of giving an item: consider gifting a membership, experience, or class taught by you as a donation to an organization—no packaging or wrap required!
Strings of Holiday Lights and Candles
Recycle, if possible: At the end of the life of holiday lights, they usually go in the garbage. But look for community efforts to recycle them. (Local scrap metal recyclers accept them for the wires.) And when candles burn down, the wax can be re-melted into new candles (look up instructions online). Otherwise, they go in the garbage.
Packaging
Flatten and recycle cardboard boxes curbside after reusing them. If you have more than your cart can handle, bundle flattened cardboard and set it next to your cart on collection day. Do not overflow your carts; make sure lids can close to reduce the potential for litter.
Reuse and then recycle plastic bubble mailers, plastic film, and plastic bags at area stores like Target, Fred Meyer, and New Seasons. Mailers/envelopes with a mix of paper and plastic may be reused, but dispose of them in the garbage.
Food Waste Reduction
SaveTheFood.com and LoveFoodHateWaste.com are two websites that have a lot of useful and reliable information on cooking for more people than usual, storing leftovers, and understanding “Best By,” “Use By,” and other labels that can lead to wasting food. Check out the “guestimator” tool to right-size your grocery shopping and preparation.
Questions? Comments? Contact Liz (elizabeth.ann.erickson@gmail.com).