The Aftermath

The holidays will be over soon and we'll be left with the aftermath of the gift-opening frenzy.  What to do with all the waste?  Here are a few ideas on how to get rid of it all in the most environmental way possible.

Reuse:

Keep all of your gift bags, bows, ribbons, clothing boxes, and any decorative packaging that you can reuse next year.  I keep all of mine in a special holiday gift wrapping bin that I just store away with the rest of the Christmas decor.  I also keep a pair of scissors, tape, and gift tags in there so it's all ready to go for next year.

Recycle:

Please recycle your gift wrap unless it's foil paper or has anything in it that's not made of paper.  Also recyclable are tissue paper, cardboard boxes, or paperboard packaging (read: Barbie boxes, Bakugan boxes, and almost every other toy packaging). 

Christmas trees:

Take off all lights, ornaments, tinsel, garland, and any other decor on the tree before putting it on the curb.  Trees are usually taken curbside for two weeks after Christmas.  Google: "Recycling Christmas trees" + your county name and it should give you information on how to recycle in your area.  

Donate:

If there's anything else you'd like to get rid of, please don't put it in the landfill.  Freecycle it instead or donate it to a local shelter or church.  Or wait til next year and sell it in a yard sale.  Remember, someone's trash is someone else's treasure.  

For more ideas, here's a great article on Earth911 about how to recycle Christmas decor, gift wrap, and other holiday leftovers: Holiday Recycling

Hope these tips will help you enjoy your holiday without creating too much waste in the process.  Have a great holiday and an even better new year!  

Paperless environment

Have you ever thought about how much paper you use in a typical day? Between receipts, work and home offices, and junk mail, it can really add up. What can we do to eliminate such waste?

REDUCE
Just say no...
to ATM receipts, gas station receipts, or any other automated receipt where they actually give you the choice. These little pieces of paper can amount to a lot. Less is more.

Print on less paper
When you print from home or work, think about 1) whether you really need to print it, 2) whether you could print on both sides of the paper, and 3) if you could use already used scrap paper instead. This will save you money in the long run by not having to buy as much paper.

Use recycled paper
This goes for printer paper, journals, notebook paper, etc. Less energy used to make virgin paper and it increases the demand for recycled products.

Eliminate junk mail
How? Visit:
www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/
http://www.ecocycle.org/junkmail/index.cfm
http://www.donotmail.org/

Stop the catalogs!
Shop online instead. Call the customer service number on the back of the catalog and ask them to take you off their mailing list. Pottery Barn and their affiliates seem to be the ones that are delivered the most often, but there are several others out there.

Borrow instead of buying magazines
They have the exact same copies that are on the newstands at the library. And they're free! I believe you can check out the older versions but have to read the latest ones at the library. But it eliminates waste, fuel to deliver these magazines, and saves you money!

Online newspapers!
Unless you love getting the Sunday paper for the comics, coupons, or just to enjoy with your coffee, read your headlines on the computer. Or find other uses for your used newspaper, such as for packing boxes that you ship, or paper hats and paper airplanes for the kids. Use comics to wrap kids presents. Finish it off with a pretty ribbon and it makes a beautiful presentation. And when you're done, RECYCLE IT!!

Paperless billing
Pay your bills online. You can do this through your bank and with the company directly. This will eliminate those bills getting mailed to your home (less fuel), or having to go to the post office to get stamps and mail them back (less fuel). It's less paper to dispose of and less paper for those companies to have to produce.

REUSE
If you want to take it one step further in your environmental efforts, reuse as much paper as you can. I cut my letter sized paper in 4 and use that for scrap paper to make grocery lists, etc. I use a lot of the paper from flyers or regular mail for my kids to draw on. And then, of course, I use some scrap paper for printing things like coupons that I find online.

RECYCLE
Once you're done with your used printer paper, junk mail, and regular mail, please recycle it! Even your phone books are recyclable so don't just toss it so it can end up in the landfill. Don't forget all of the paper in your shredder! Every recycling center accepts paper.

More websites:
About paper in our society:
http://ecology.com/features/paperchase/
About the environmental benefits of recycled paper:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagid=24437

Try these tips in order to use less paper, or at least dispose of it in a more responsible way. Less paper, less clutter in your home. Reduce, reuse, recycle!