With the holiday season fast approaching, there are meals to prepare, gifts to buy, presents to wrap and decorations to be hung. While all of these aspects contribute to the familiar holiday traditions, the aftermath and the environmental impact can be overlooked.
Tiffany Dawson is the general manager for Republic Trash Services in southwest Missouri. She said the company sees an increase in waste during the holidays.
“The two weeks after Christmas, the trash weight increases about 10 percent and the recycling weight increases about 20 percent,” Dawson said.
Various materials used during the holidays, like gift wrap, have certain requirements to be recyclable. Ashley Krug, the market development coordinator for the Department of Environmental Services in Springfield, says certain elements of gift wrap can cause the paper to not be recyclable.
“People throw a lot more away when they get more stuff, which is hugely problematic,” Krug said. “A lot of the types of materials that people purchase [are] because they’re pretty – wrapping paper is a perfect example of that. Any wrapping paper that has glitter or foil on it–if it looks shiny and pretty–it makes it not recyclable. Whereas if you were to get a print that didn’t have those metallic elements it could be recycled at the end. Thinking about the types of materials we’re using to celebrate and making sure they’re recyclable is a really easy step that people can take during the holidays when we’re consuming a lot more.”
While making purchases for the season of giving, taking the environmental impact into account could sway one’s decision on what to buy.
“Think about packaging when you’re buying gifts,” Dawson said. “Combining gifts into fewer shipments saves on boxes and saves on trips from the delivery driver which is more environmentally friendly. Something else that you can do that doesn’t necessarily reduce waste but reduces the environmental impact, is having an eye on things that are able to be recycled or reused. If you are going to buy something with a lot of packaging, [ask yourself] ‘[is] the packaging … going to be able to be recycled?’”
Nixa residents have the convenience of having their recyclables picked up shortly after the holiday hustle.
“In Nixa, the recycle pickup week is the week after Christmas so there is a big opportunity for everybody to make sure those boxes, paper and anything else recyclable gets recycled and [to] keep it out of the trash cans,” Dawson said.
Christmas trees, a Christmas staple in many family homes during the holidays can also add to the waste. However, knowing how to dispose of them properly is important to the environment.
“People think about, ‘Do I buy a real tree? Do I buy a fake free that can be used for several years?’ and there’s debates back and forth over which is actually better,” Krug said. “Thinking about how we dispose of those things–If we get a new [fake] Christmas tree this year can we donate the old one to places like Habitat for Humanity, so that someone else can enjoy our Christmas tree? Or if you get a real tree, can you take that to one of the drop-off sites and be turned into compost or, at Bass Pro, [they] work with the boy scouts to take those [used] trees and turn them into fish habitats in various lakes. We want to make sure we’re not taking those materials to the landfill when they can have a better use or a renewed use later on.”
While learning how to properly dispose of live Christmas trees is crucial to the environment, knowing what to do with a plastic tree is equally important.
“A fake tree can’t be recycled at all. If [you’re] going to purchase a fake tree, then we’re going to need to make sure that we’re trying to utilize it, [like] storing it well so that it can be used for as long as possible,” Krug said. “I always hesitate to say that one is better than the other because it’s so situational. We just need to make sure we can dispose of them properly – and that’s when donation is so useful because somebody else maybe can’t afford to buy a tree [so] that might be a great resource for them to be able to celebrate in their home.”
There are many different elements that play into waste around the holidays; a big contributor is food waste.
“People enjoy celebrating a lot more during this time of year, so traditionally we’re always going to see increases in food waste around major events that lots of people celebrate,” Krug said. “Regardless of how you celebrate, traditionally people eat with [holidays]. So, we see a lot more materials come in from those types of activities more than anything.”
Knowing how to use leftovers and excess food from holiday gatherings can eliminate a percentage of food waste. Michele Pierce, the director of client services at Least of These food bank, suggests various ways to her clients about reusing leftovers.
“In my opinion, the number one contributor to food waste over the holidays is the fact that so many households make food for more people than they usually do,” Pierce said. “This results in a lot of leftovers, which can seem unappetizing if they are served in the same way they were originally prepared. I try to give our clients recipes and tips for making casseroles, soups, stews, quiches and other meals using typical holiday leftovers. I also try to make sure they are given information about how food waste affects our planet. I believe that everyone should use any leftover food to stretch their budget, regardless of their finances. It is the responsible thing to do.”
Donating extra or unused food during the holidays can help combat waste. However, Pierce said that according to past statistics, Least Of These has seen a decrease in food donations during the holidays.
“That is one of the reasons we encourage monetary donations during this time,” Pierce said. “There are a variety of reasons for this – fresh produce from gardens is not available, people are busier and can’t always find the time to purchase and deliver food items and we are closed several days for holidays when we would normally be open to receive donations.”
However, there are other ways to get involved. For example, Pierce said that for most donors, it is easier to donate money on the Least Of These website.
“Many donors know that because of our relationships with places where we purchase food, such as Ozarks Food Harvest and Associated Wholesale Grocers,” Pierce said. “We can buy food at a much cheaper price than they can buy it at the store where they pay retail prices. With a few exceptions, we can usually buy $10.00 worth of groceries for every dollar that is donated.”
