Tips for Waste-Free Holidays

Got an email from my town encouraging residents to “reduce, reuse and recycle” during the holiday season. Perhaps you’ll find these tips useful.

“During the holidays, there are many actions besides recycling that we can take to minimize the amount of waste we create,” said Freeholder Rick Fontana, solid waste and recycling liaison. “These gift ideas and simple tips will help you conserve resources, minimize ‘the mess’ and save you money too. They might also give you a gift idea for that hard-to-shop-for person.”

“Green” Gift Ideas:

• Tickets: theatre, dance, concert, comedy, sports events
• Season passes: sports and entertainment venues
• Memberships: gym, organization, books or magazines
• Lessons: cooking, music, dancing
• Gift Certificates: restaurant, car wash, spa, bed & breakfast
• Services: housecleaning, yard work, car washing
• Charities: Donating money in the recipient’s name is doubly rewarding. Contributions to nonprofit organizations often are tax deductible and the charities benefit too.

Reduce Waste

• Purchase products with little or no packaging
• Send electronic holiday cards
• Reuse gift wrap or gift bags
• Make the packaging part of the gift (wrap in a table cloth, dish towel, an article of clothing or a reusable tote bag).

These are pretty good suggestions. But I disagree with sending electronic holiday cards. First off, they’re really a lazy way of communicating. (Take ten minutes and write a personal letter.) Also, while some service providers are reputable, I caution my family to never open e-cards because they are a common way of spreading malicious code that infect PCs.