Green Christmas: How you can help reduce holiday waste

First at Five looks at ways to reduce the festive footprint on the environment.

The holidays bring a lot of joy, but they can also leave behind a surprising amount of waste. From packaging to wrapping and decorations, the garbage can pile up, but it doesn’t take much to reduce the waste.

“We always reuse our holiday shopping bags whether they’ve been gifted to us or we’re gifting to others,” said shopper Greg Nord. “We have a huge Tupperware bin in the basement that’s full of old tissue paper that we recycled that we reuse.”

Efforts like that can make a big difference. According to Zero Waste Canada, overall waste can increase by more than 25 per cent across the country during the holiday season. Previous data shows 545,000 tonnes of waste is generated from things like wrapping paper and shopping bags each year.

“It’s a time when people are buying lots, producing lots of waste. Why not reduce it right at the start?” said Kirk Symonds with Halifax Regional Municipality’s (HRM) Solid Waste Resources.

In Charlottetown, and across Prince Edward Island, gift wrap and tissue paper can be composted, while plastic and foil wrap go in the garbage. In Fredericton, shiny wrapping paper is not accepted in curbside recycling. New this year in HRM, gift wrap and bags even with glitter and foil can be recycled.

“Another one that’s interesting is you don’t have to remove tape. Tape can be left on this year. If you want to remove it, that’s fine, but it is not required by the program,” said Symonds. “You take all of your paper, and you put it in your paper recycling bag.”

People can go a step further to reduce their waste around the holidays. Instead of using wrapping paper, HRM recommends:

• upcycle newspaper / magazines as gift wrap
• wrap in a tea towel, dishcloth, or scarf
• use fabric scraps
• re-use gift bags or tote bags
• use newspaper or magazines as tissue paper
• re-use tissue paper
• save ribbon and string scraps to make bows

“There’s lots of stuff around your home that you can use to wrap. My mother has been using the same pharmacy bags for about 15 years. We keep reusing them and it becomes part of our tradition,” he said.

Reducing waste also comes down to what people buy.

“I love going to Value Village and thrift stores and finding unique items that are perfect for the people in my family,” said shopper Clare Gilbert.

Another way to cut down on waste is to give the gift of memories like tickets to a fun event or a membership. People can also give the gift of time, for instance, chores, lawnmowing or babysitting services.