Hilltown Families 
13 Tips On How To GREEN Your Holiday
Reduce, Reuse and Plan Ahead: 13 Tips On How To GREEN Your Holiday
Photo credit: (ccl) Plastic_Bat
1. Wrapping paper is now recyclable!
All wrapping paper is recyclable except wrapping paper with foil, no ribbons or bows and no metallic inks or glitter. Recycle your wrapping paper at the landfill or transfer station this year with your other paper. Also, keep in mind that all cardboard gift boxes, tissue paper, gift cards and paper shopping bags are recyclable, and you can bring Styrofoam packing peanuts to the UPS store for reuse. On the other hand, ribbons, bows, tinsel and photographs cannot be recycled. They go to the landfill.
2. Reduce and Reuse
Give Used Gifts
It’s greener to give used items than to give new green items. It takes a lot of energy and natural resources to make stuff. To be green, give a gift that used no additional energy to create. Antique shops and thrift stores are cheap and often have some really cool stuff. Re-gifts (gifts you received from last year, but never use) can be passed on to someone who will use and appreciate them. Give away the bike, appliance, or gadget that you never use. It will save you time, money and storage space. — If you’d like to stay at home, scour Craigslist for heavily discounted (or free) electronics, furniture, books, clothing, toys, or almost anything else, or Freecycle for free items.
Re-Use Paper for Wrapping Paper
Reuse old maps, magazines, and gift cards as wrapping, decoration or tags. The Sunday comics or brown paper packages tied up with string are fun, original, virtually cost-free and totally recyclable. — You can also use old shoeboxes, cloth napkins or gift bags from last year to add flair to your gift-wrapping projects.
3. Compost Christmas Trees at the Landfill
4. Buy Quantities of Food that You’ll Actually Eat!
Plan your holiday meals and parties carefully to reduce avoidable and costly waste. Package leftovers and distribute them to guests as they leave. COMPOST all food scraps and uneaten leftovers to keep them out of the landfill.
5. Buy or Borrow Re-Usable or Compostable Cutlery, Cups, Flatware and Napkins
Thrift shops and tag sales have an abundance of reusable plates, utensils and glasses, often at a low price that is comparable to buying disposable items. Buy a whole bunch and then keep them in storage for your next party. You can also call a neighbor and borrow additional place settings for a large party. — If you do use paper plates and napkins, know that they are compostable. Plant-based plastics and biodegradable cutlery and cups are also available.
6. Minimize Packaging and Vote With Your Dollar
If you buy new gifts, send a message to manufacturers by choosing items with minimal packaging.
7. Consumable Gifts
Gifts that are consumable such as baked goods, coffee, cheese or wine have minimal, recyclable packaging and are immediately enjoyed, appreciated, and won’t go to waste. Buy gift certificates to locally owned stores. Check out www.pvlocalfirst.org, they offer a directory of local businesses in the valley. [The Hilltown CDC offers a directory of businesses in the hilltowns too.]
8. Shift Away from Material Gift-Giving
Material gifts require resource extraction, transportation, manufacture, distribution, purchase and eventual disposal. Check out the Story of Stuff to learn about the hidden environmental costs associated with of all of our material stuff. Gifts that are immaterial will last forever. Offer time and services to loved ones such as babysitting, household chores, or a night out.
9. Donate Charitable Gifts in Someone’s Name
Consider directing your money to a service-oriented cause, charity or organization. Kiva.org offers micro-loans to third-world citizens so that they can start a business that will sustain them and their family. These loans of about $50 dollars can help make a huge difference in the lives of the worlds’ less fortunate people and they are repaid 98.4% of the time. After it is repaid, they can either be redeemed or revolved back into another loan…it’s up to you.
Heifer International (www.heifer.org) provides livestock, bees, and other beneficial gifts that can offer ongoing nutrition and income to the world’s poor one family at a time. The gifts are inexpensive, and can be given in someone else’s name. Reminder: charitable donations are tax-deductible.
10. Be Thoughtful About Your Transportation and Travel Plans
Reduce your carbon emissions by doing all of your shopping at once, rather than in multiple trips. Carpool with family and reduce air travel by taking a train or driving to your holiday destination. Keep your car tuned up, and tires properly inflated to optimize your car’s fuel efficiency.
11. Pool Resources
Get together, organize and connect with your family to buy one meaningful, durable, fantastic gift for someone. Many hands make light work, and small contributions can add up quickly to get a few great gifts for everyone.
12. Eliminate Junk Mail and Unwanted Catalogues
There are many ways to eliminate unwanted catalogs and junk mail that waste energy, resources and paper. Check out www.obviously.com/junkmail or sign up for www.stopjunk.com with pre-addressed cards that will reduce your junk mail easily.
13. Give gifts that encourage a green lifestyle.
Last but not least, there are plenty of things to buy that encourage an earth-friendly lifestyle; Earth Machines (available at your local DPW) make composting easy and accessible. Travel mugs, canvas bags, solar chargers, plants or gardening tools are all good options too.
I’ve got a great + super simple tip. The next time you’re purchasing a gift card– go for the electronic (and paperless) option, an eGift card. Each year, 75 millions lbs of PVC is dumped into landfills from plastic gift card waste (Plenty Magazine). That’s an astronomical amount of waste for something that can easily and conveniently be sent virtually. PVC is notoriously difficult to recycle and cannot be tossed into the recycling bin along side your other household items. You must send those pesky plastic cards to a PVC recycling plant, the only one I know of is EarthWorks. For a directory of retailers that offer an eGift card, try http://www.giftzip.com …it is the most extensive one I have found to date. Hope that helped.
5 more tips here to Green Your Holiday from mylifescoop.com