7 Simple Steps To Reduce Plastic During the Holidays

During the holiday season, waste often doubles, and although many things are recyclable, they often don’t end up in the proper bin. To avoid these environmental setbacks, one of the best ways to tis the season is to reduce the plastic we use and give during the season.

This year, as you prepare for your celebration, try and reduce plastic during the holidays with these simple strategies.

Don’t Even BUY the Plastic Cutlery

I know it feels as though there are thousands of things to do around the holidays! Saving time by using plastic cutlery instead of washing silverware, is a step in the wrong direction. Maybe you think “it’s just once a year”? This type of thinking multiplied by millions of others is how we average throwing out 100 million plastic utensils every day! Be kind, sing some carols while you wash your guest’s forks, and be kind to our earth.

Gift Sustainable Clothing and Shoes

Next time you’re thinking about giving someone a sweater, shirt, or shoes for the holidays, try and source them from companies that are trying to make a difference in the world. One of the easiest ways to wear clothing more sustainably is to choose sustainable fabrics that do not leech microplastics into our water. Avoid fabrics such as polyester, nylon, and spandex, which are all made of plastic derivatives.

Cut out Anything with Glitter

The majority of glitter out there is made from microplastics that cannot be filtered from the water. The microplastic problem is real! Marine life ends up eating glitter and small bits of plastic, only to end up in our food system. This is one of the ways how the average person ends up eating up to a credit card of plastic per week! Glitter may seem magical and bright, but the truth is darker and grim. Reduce even the smallest amount of plastic, it is more toxic than we realize.

Wrap in Recyclable Paper or Make Reusable Bags

I remember those cloth bags that the gas stations used to promote around Christmas in the 80s to use as wrapping for gifts. These cloth bags can later be used in a variety of different ways throughout the years. This year, try sewing reusable bags or making your own wrapping paper by stamping onto newspaper and decorating with a cloth ribbon.

If you must use traditional wrapping paper, make sure that it is the paper variety that can be recycled. Avoid plastics, foil, or glitter-lined type wrapping.

Buy a Real Tree or Second-Hand Tree

Real trees come with the added benefits of a natural pine smell, absorbing carbon dioxide, and emitting oxygen to clean the air. A real tree also doesn’t have to be stored for the season and will reduce the number of fossil fuels needed to produce the plastic for the trees.

After a few years, plastic trees often end up in landfills, sitting there for thousands of years, waiting to decompose. If you have a large plant in your home, you can even skip the traditional tree and decorate your large plant. If you must buy a plastic tree, try to source it second-hand. This will not only save on packaging but will postpone throwing out a perfectly usable tree.

Do Not Buy Ready Made Trays

Many of us are returning to hosting small get-togethers after the lockdown of the pandemic. Often, we jump to convenience-type shortcuts to prep for our parties. The convenience of a plastic tray is ACTUALLY not convenient at all! Digging thousands of feet down into the earth for petroleum, converting it into plastic, manufacturing it into a disposable tray, and transporting it several times over to its final destination, is far from convenient! Even if you intend to recycle your tray, the front-loaded efforts are unsustainable in the long run.

Do your best to reduce plastic during the holidays and cut fruit and vegetables on washable serving trays.

Give Experience Gifts

Avoid gimmicky gifts for children and adults alike. They are often made of cheap plastic and end up just sitting around for years unused. Children’s toys are especially wasteful and come wrapped in an excess of plastic. Experience gifts such as museum passes, baseball tickets, festival passes, and online subscriptions are often more meaningful and well-received. Reduce your carbon footprint by gifting memories instead of stuff.