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In enviro circles, we talk a lot about holding events that are Zero Waste, especially during the holidays. Of course, the first thing that crosses my mind is, "What the heck do they mean by Zero Waste?" Because honestly when I look at places or events that say they are or try to be Zero Waste, there are items in their recycling and compost bins. Often there's even a little itty bitty bit of trash that goes off to the landfill. That looks like generating waste to me in a very literal, sorry-but-I-parse-things-down-due-to-occupational-hazard type of way. It's not that I'm knocking or not down with the eco program. Sometimes I'm just too literal for my own good. Oops.
After some research, I found that Zero Waste comes down to this: reduce the amount of trash hauled off to the landfill that you or your event makes to zero. You do this by buying/producing items that use less packaging, by recycling and composting everything that can be recycled and composted, and by finding ways to recycle things that can't currently be recycled.
Oh. OK. I can do that for my holiday events. So can you. Here’s how.
- Reuse your current holiday decorations, tree, lights, candles, what have you, – the greenest thing you can do is use the things you already own.
- Compost holiday meal food scraps.
- Wrap gifts in reusable wrappings such as gift bags, gift tins, fabric (an extra gift if the person is a crafter), towels (another gift within a gift), or shopping totes (yet another example of a gift within a gift!)
- Recycle spent wrapping paper and gift packaging through your local paper recycling program.
- Save and reuse gift bows, ribbon, and wrapping paper for the following year.
- Rent or borrow dishes for dinner instead of buying disposable plates, serving items, or silverware.
- Use cloth napkins & table clothes (these make excellent gifts too!)
- Give gifts that do not require a lot of extra packaging – like event tickets, lessons, services, zoo/museum/water park/etc. memberships, or consider giving a gift that the family can share like a game console or a karaoke machine.
- If you decorate with a live tree, wreath, or swags, compost them yourself or donate them to an organization or neighbor that will chip these items into wood mulch after the holiday season.
- If you want to send leftovers home with your guests, ask them to bring their own reusable containers. You could also reuse empty butter or deli containers (caution your guests not to use these plastic containers to reheat their contents in a microwave oven) to package those leftovers. If you are leery of using plastic containers, try reusing empty glass spaghetti, mason, or applesauce jars.
How do you cut down on the waste but not the fun during the holiday season?
Lisa blogs about living green on a little budget at Condo Blues and as Capessa's green contributor at Sustainable Style.
