It may still be a couple of weeks before Halloween arrives, but you know Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. While the holiday season is a time for giving thanks and remembering the true meaning of Christmas, think about how much food and trash people throw away. You have to think about food scraps, wrapping paper and all kinds of other things that makes the garbage cans overflow to the tune of an extra 25 percent. That’s right, and extra 25 percent, and I’m sure that could actually be higher in some instances. People waste so much stuff during the holidays, and it’s important to know how that can be prevented.
One tip I saw mentioned was about reusing ribbon and according to sweetservices.com one way of minimizing candy and chocolate wrappers is to buy in bulk or buy candies in a jar instead of candies wrapped individually. Well, that would certainly be nice for sure. You would be amazed at the statistics when it comes to reusing and recycling. Both of those ideas can make a huge difference of course. Recycling is something that should be focused upon year round, but consumers especially need to make sure they put forth the effort during the holiday season.
While food is something that doesn’t last in the landfill, it’s still waste that could be used in another way. Leftovers are a tradition, but there is still so much food that gets thrown away. Think about what would happen if every family gave their leftovers to the hungry people out there. They certainly wouldn’t be hungry, and there wouldn’t be such a bad food waste problem in America. Again, this is something that could be focused upon year round.
It’s not just residential waste during the holiday season that needs to be prevented. Think about restaurants and department stores. Think about just how much waste would accumulate just in your city alone. It’s unfathomable almost, and it’s actually sickening if you think about it.
Preventing waste even extends to gift giving. Think about it, and it makes sense. In America, we love stuff, and that stuff doesn’t always stick around. Plus, there are gifts that are environmentally friendly. Think about what you might already be doing that helps prevent waste during the holidays, and then think about what you might be able to do differently. It makes me want to use bags for gifts so they can be reused. It makes me want to take leftovers to the local homeless shelter. It makes me want to think twice about all of the waste that I throw out during the holidays.