Greening Your Holidays

Reduce Food Waste with a Splash. Before fruit goes bad, put it in an ice-cube tray with water or juice, then freeze. Use the fruit ice to make your holiday punch more festive.

Compost your Holiday Food Waste. Americans threw away more than 36 million tons of food in 2011. Almost all of that went to landfills, where it can decompose to produce methane, a greenhouse gas more than 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide. Composting it instead gives you rich soil for your plants and helps fight climate change. http://www2.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home

Think Green while Holiday Shopping.Buy gifts made with recycled content and that can be recycled (look for a label). Buying products with recycled content encourages manufactures to make more recycled-content products available. http://www2.epa.gov/recycle

Greener Christmas Trees. Buy a potted tree for your Christmas tree this year and enjoy it year-round. Or buy a balled tree and plant it after the holidays. If you do use a live Christmas tree, recycle it after the holidays instead of sending it to a landfill. Ask your local solid waste department whether they collect and mulch trees. Your town might use chippings from mulched trees for hiking trails and beachfront erosion barriers. http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/winter.htm

DIY: New Uses for Old Holiday Cards. Reuse holiday cards as postcards or as gift tags. Postcard: cut off the front and put on a stamp on the other side. Gift tag: cut cards into smaller pieces and attach with tape or ribbon. http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/winter.htm

Holiday Green with DIY Wreath. Make your own wreath and be green! Trim evergreens, then wind them into a metal or grapevine wreath. Use twine, a glue gun, or floral wire to attach. http://epa.gov/waste/wycd/winter.htm

Make your Packaging Part of the Gift. Show you care and avoid packaging waste by baking goodies for your loved ones and putting them in reusable containers. http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/winter.htm

Gift Wrapping Gone Green. Be green when wrapping gifts. Reuse wrapping paper from the previous year or use recycled paper, maps, magazines, newspaper, or even packing paper from packages you receive. Also, don’t forget to save your used wrapping paper for next year. http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/winter.htm

Go Green with DIY Holiday Decorations. Have a create-your-own-decorations party with family and friends. Create decorations from old greeting cards or cookie dough. Make origami stars from old newspapers and garland with popcorn or cranberries. Or try making potpourri made from spices such as cinnamon and cloves. http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/winter.htm

Reuse and Be Crafty – Holiday Cards Get a Fresh Look. Reduce paper waste and save money: make new holiday cards from scrap paper, or attach new backs to the fronts of old cards. This can be a fun holiday craft project for your family and friends. http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/winter.htm