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Sustainable Seasons

The holidays provide great opportunities to show appreciation for loved ones. This year, consider the environment in your celebrations. Americans throw away 25% more trash during the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day than any other time. This amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, according to

Reducing waste can be fun and easy! Here are some suggestions to help.

Experiences
Not all gifts come in packages. Give the gifts of time and experience. Relax, play, laugh; do something with your friends and family. It will be a gift to yourself as well! Give a gift certificate to the spa or movie theater. Learn together with or classes; give tickets to a or a ; host a game night or treat loved ones to a new restaurant!  91¶ÌÊÓƵ, incidentally, offers superb ,, and other artistic events.

Handmade Gifts
Taking time to make gifts tells people you put both thought and energy into their gifts. Gather materials to create something that is uniquely theirs, such as Christmas ornaments using family pictures. Or compile a recipe book accompanied by tasty homemade treats. Take an and gift your creation, or use essential oils and wax to make a personalized candle.

Upcycling
Perfect gifts are out there waiting for you to find them! Consignment stores, and antique stores are a great way to find a gift while reducing waste by not introducing new material into the waste cycle. You can also shop your own closest by picking out pieces of jewelry or sweaters you think would look great on a friend. Pass on treasured books or kitchen wares to those who may love them just as much as you do.

Zero Waste Starter Kit
If you have a friend who’s just getting into zero waste, a zero waste starter kit is the perfect gift. A bamboo toothbrush or plant-based phone case can also make great stocking stuffers!

Reusable Gift Wrap
A tremendous source of holiday waste is wrapping paper. Make use of fabric pieces, newspaper, or brown bags to create your own gift wrap. You just might start a trend! Decorative tins, gift bags and boxes are beautiful and can be reused for years on end. Be sure to save ribbons and bows to reuse and purchase materials without holiday-specific patterns or images so that you can reuse them for birthdays and anniversaries. If you still want to purchase wrapping paper, consider .

Food during the Holidays:
Many holiday traditions orient around food.  So this is a particularly relevant time of year to remind ourselves that according to Project Drawdown, reduced food waste and a plant-rich diet are ranked and among the top solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  If you are interested to learn more on the health and environmental benefits of increasing the , Plant Based Utah is hosting their annual  on November 23 in Park City (registration is required).