Share and Voice: Tips for Reducing Waste During the Thanksgiving and Winter Holidays

http://www.epa.gov/osw/wycd/funfacts/fall.htm


I couldn't believe how much trash my family produced at Thanksgiving dinner and there was only 12 of us!  I couldn't imagine how much trash the entire United States produced over the break.  EcoWorld states that since 1995 our winter holiday wastes have increased 20%.  Another interesting statistic found by EcoWorld was that if every family in the U.S. decreased their gas consumption by one gallon, 6.5 million tons of climate-changing carbon dioxide would be prevented from entering the air.  I thought it would be beneficial to learn some ways how to reduce waste during the Thanksgiving and winter holidays.  Some tips listed as:

*Make a committment to recyle-by doing so you are lessening the waste that accumulates in landfills
*Use grass clippings or shredded leaves for mulch.  You then can pile them around your shrubbery and pile degradable produce and food into the mix.
*Avoid plastic throw away dinner ware and paper napkins!!!  Use cloth napkins and a dinning set if you are hosting a party.  If there are decorations involved, save them and use them for next year.
*Save leftovers!!  Do not toss food that is not spoiled.  This saves you money and your time to prepare your meals.
*If the amount of left overs is small, compost these food scraps.
*Be sure to actually take the time to show your guests where to put the recylcing (paper, plastic, etc).  If they do not know where to recycle their item, it is far more likely that they will just toss it in the trash.
*Fill your dishwaster to capacity before running it--if you do not do so, it is a waste of water
*It is important to wash and reuse items that are brought to the party by guests.  Such as:  jars, cookie tins, dairy tubs, etc.  You can use these to place your leftovers in or use them as pen holders or decor for the house.
*Avoid putting food down the disposal that could clog the drain.  If not avoided, this could lead to damage of the pipes and send parts of your sink to the dump before their time.
*Buy food in bulks!!
*If you are traveling for the holidays be sure to turn down the thermostat and shut off all lights