No matter how you celebrate during the winter months, waste will always be a factor to consider during your celebrations. Whether it’s from the mountains of gifts that are opened or from the end-of-the-year cleaning sprees to get ready for the “New Year, New You”, most people find that their bins are filling up quicker and with more waste during the holiday season. If the holiday mess stresses you out, here are some tips to reduce the amount of waste and help maintain your sanity:
• Give the gift of experiences rather than material items. You can still gift the people in your life some joy, but make it an experience or a special dinner. This way there is no packaging, minimal wrapping, and a shared memory.
• If you do give gifts, use as little packaging as possible. A gift basket with individual items reduces the amount of wrapping paper used.
• Plan out your meals so that there is enough food (and just a little more) for the number of guests planned. Reducing your food waste will keep your bins a little lighter.
• Safely dispose of old holiday lights and electronics by bringing them to [Winnebago County Solid Waste (100 West County Road Y, Oshkosh WI, 54901) during operating hours. The Brown County Resource Recovery Pinterest page also has plenty of ideas to help you this holiday season from DIY gifts, food waste tips and even upcycled decorations. View their Pinterest page here.
Borrowed from Brown County Port & Resource Recovery, Vol. 12, Issue 4 November Newsletter.