Even Christmas doesn’t get a break from the eco-terrorists.
Christmas is a time of celebration, but once the party’s over, plenty of garbage is hauled to the curb.
Environmental group Zero Waste Canada estimates that from mid-November to mid-January, the average Canadian generates about 25 per cent more trash than during the rest of the year.
The reason: people buy more stuff over the holidays, and a lot of it — from shiny wrapping paper to glittery cards — typically can’t go in your recycling blue bin, so it’s destined for the landfill.
To help Canadians celebrate a greener Christmas this year, here are some of the season’s worst offenders and tips for cutting down that holiday trash.
Beware of slick gift wrap
To avoid unnecessary waste, opt for the plainest wrapping paper. Different materials generally need to be separated before recycling, so any gift wrap involving foil, laminated or metallic coating or sparkles will likely be rejected by your blue bin program.
“Even though it’s made of paper, because there’s this other coating, whether it be plastic, whether it be wax, it kind of messes up [the recycling process],” said Calvin Lakhan, a research scientist at York University in Toronto.
Blue box programs also generally don’t want tinsel or gift leftovers such as bows, ribbons, cellophane and tape because these items are made of materials that are difficult to recycle.
On top of that, ribbons and tinsel are a recycling facility’s worst nightmare because they can get stuck in the sorting machines.
“It will get literally jammed inside of the wheels and then it causes massive disruptions to the system,” said Lakhan.
If you’re shopping online, you may start piling up waste even before the gift wrapping begins. Much of the protective packaging used to ship goods, such as bubble wrap and foam chips, is also difficult to recycle and likely can’t go in your blue box.
“At Christmas, the only thing that I’d say is readily recyclable is the cardboard packaging that Amazon ships your stuff in,” said Lakhan.[…]
Sophie Jacazio in Toronto cuts down on gift wrapping garbage by giving “experiential” presents to many family members and friends, such as tickets to an exhibit or a night out together.
“I will be most definitely taking some people out for dinner. That to me is a good gift and it enables people to reconnect and spend time together.”
She believes experiences can offer more satisfaction than material gifts — and they’ll never wind up in a landfill
“They’re a lot more thoughtful and respectful of the people I’m gifting them to — and the environment.”