Courtesy California Waste Management Integration Board

The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is a time for celebrations, family gatherings, gift-giving and parties. Unfortunately, it’s also a time when families generate a lot more trash than they normally do--as much as one million extra tons of solid waste is generated nationwide each week during the holiday period.

An estimated 38,000 miles of ribbon alone is thrown out each year--that’s enough to tie a bow around the planet! And 2.6 billion greeting cards are sold each year in the United States during the holiday season, enough to fill a football field 10 stories high.

“With all of the excitement of the holiday season many consumers don’t think about the waste that is generated with wrapping and ribbons,’’ said Board Chair Margo Reid Brown. “By practicing some very simple techniques to help reuse, reduce, and recycle, Californians can make this a green holiday.”

Mother Nature will decide whether you’ll enjoy a White Christmas this year. But the California Integrated Waste Management Board has some holiday waste management ideas that will ensure Californians will have a green Christmas.

Here are the Waste Board’s Top Five recommendations for making this an environmentally sensitive holiday:

1. Give a green gift--Make sure it contains recycled material.
   Some unique and interesting gifts made from recycled materials can be found online at outlets like the Waste Board RecycleStore website. This electronic catalog lists tens of thousands of items from manufacturers specializing in recycled-content products. It’s a great resource for shoppers looking to give friends and family a holiday gift to cherish while helping to reduce waste. Products from the RecycleStore can include: stunning home furniture; recycled cardboard and wax fireplace logs; and a full line of clothing.
2. Make it a Reuse Holiday--Use your imagination while wrapping gifts.
   Consider reusable gift boxes as a substitute for holiday wrapping paper. Other alternate gift-wrapping materials can include holiday fabric or reusable, cloth shopping bags. Giving a funny gift to someone? Try wrapping it in a newspaper comics page. Sports-related gifts can be wrapped using a newspaper sports section. And don’t forget gift certificates or those popular gift cards, which require no holiday wrapping.
3. Don't think trash--Think recycling.
   You can help manage and minimize waste accumulated during the holiday season by following these simple recommendations:
   • Recycle wrapping paper with the potential for reuse next year.
   • Save gift boxes, most can be flattened for easy storage to use for the following year.
   • The Waste Board provides many great tips on how to reuse old greeting cards for years to come. Images from previous years’ Christmas cards can be cut out to decorate this year’s presents, or used as ornaments on a Christmas tree.
   • Drop off extra packaging materials--those Styrofoam peanuts that often fill boxes when gifts or merchandise are shipped to your home--at private commercial mailing centers found in the local Yellow Pages.
   • Remember to donate or recycle old items such as TV sets, computers, and clothing to keep extra waste out of landfills. Learn where to recycle electronic waste products from the Earth911.com or eRecycle.org websites.
4. Electronic items might still have value--Donate or recycle them.
   If this is the season for a new television, computer or cell phone, or if holiday shopping bargains prompt you to replace an old or outdated model, look for environmentally friendly alternatives for disposing of the older items.
   • Consider donating the old item to a school, church, or civic organization.
   • Recycle it properly at an e-waste collection center or event.
   • E-waste is hazardous material and cannot be thrown in the trash, on the roadside, or in landfills.
   • Check the Waste Board website for convenient e-waste recycling locations.
5. Trees can keep on giving.
   According to the National Christmas Tree Association, approximately 25 to 30 million live and fresh-cut Christmas trees are sold nationwide each year. Be sure to plant or donate your Christmas trees after the holiday season if you bought a live tree.

   If you purchased a cut tree, check your local newspaper or the Earth911.com website for instructions on recycling options and dates for pick-up or drop off. Remember to remove all decorations such as tinsel before recycling your Christmas tree.

Find more waste-reduction suggestions at the Waste Board’s special holiday waste reduction website.

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The California Integrated Waste Management Board is the state's leading authority on recycling and waste reduction. It promotes reducing waste whenever possible, managing all materials to their highest and best use and protecting public health and safety and the environment.