How Much Gift Giving is Going to End Up in Landfills This Holiday Season?

When Native Americans and the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving to commemorate hardships they had overcome, they began a tradition that is much anticipated here in America. And Christmas is, without a doubt, the single biggest worldwide celebration.

With these two holidays come a curious increase in the amount of consumption and its associated waste.

It is estimated that Americans waste 28 billion pounds of food each year and half of the paper expended in this country is used to wrap consumer products.

Let us all try to curb the mad consumption and see if we can get by with just a little less this year. This is a perfect time to show just how committed we are to reducing waste. Are we going to be waste-wise warriors or waste- wise wannabes?


Facts on Holiday Waste
From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. Added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons - it all adds up to an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills. (EPA and Use Less Stuff)


In the U.S., annual trash from gift-wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons. (Use Less Stuff)

Cards
The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year n the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one card less, we'd save 50,000 cubic yards of paper. (Use Less Stuff) Consider sending an electronic card. The following are some examples of what is available on the internet:
American Greetings

Hallmark


Ribbons
if every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

Food
At least 28 billion pounds of edible food are wasted each year - or over 100 pounds per person. (Use Less Stuff)

Paper
Half of the paper America consumes is used to wrap and decorate consumer products. (The Recycler's Handbook)

Christmas Trees
Each year, 50 million Christmas trees are purchased in the U.S. (Cygnus Group). Of those, about 30 million go to the landfill. (Environmental News Network)



Gifts
The average American spends $800 on gifts over the holiday season.

According to a national survey, 70% of Americans would welcome less emphasis on gift giving and spending. (Center for a New American Dream)


About 40% of all battery sales occur during the holiday season. (EPA)

Transportation
If each family reduced holiday gasoline consumption by one gallon (about twenty miles), we'd reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one million tons. (Use Less Stuff)


I’m all for celebrating our traditions, without them life would be pretty boring, and disrespectful of those who sacrificed so much to get us to where we are today. But, let’s be reasonable in our consumption and make a conscious effort to cutting back on waste this year.