State suggests ways

to conserve during holidays
By Scott Nicholson

Elvis Presley sang “Blue Christmas,” but environmental officials and advocates are asking everyone to join in a chorus of “Green Christmas.”

By reducing waste, recycling, and giving from a sustainable perspective, people may be able to save money both for themselves and local government.

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources says holiday preparations, including gift-giving, holiday decorations and food preparation, increase the nation’s trash by an extra one million tons per week during the five weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

If every American wrapped three presents in recycled materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

Some environmentally-friendly and cost-saving ideas include:

• Give home-baked goodies in reusable containers like baskets, tins or jars.

• Give non-materialistic “green” gifts that do not require wrapping, such as gift certificates for massages, to restaurants, cooking classes, sailing lessons, etc.

• Give a gift of time or talent. Take someone to a play, concert or movie. Make gift certificates for a special dinner, pet-sitting or house cleaning. Offer your talents at gardening, photography or financial planning, or teach someone a skill you possess, such as knitting, woodworking or playing an instrument.

• Send holiday e-cards instead of paper greeting cards or buy cards that have recycled material in the content.

• When shipping, reuse foam peanuts or other packaging materials. Many shipping outlets also take Styrofoam peanuts, and corrugated cardboard and pasteboard are accepted for recycling by Watauga County.

• If you have several events or parties in a short amount of time, buy food items in bulk. You will save a trip to the grocery and use less packaging. Consolidate your shopping trips to save energy.

• Shop at thrift stores for unique gift items or holiday decorations.

• Save all gift-wrapping and decorations to reuse later or wrap gifts in old maps, newspaper comic pages, posters, sheet music, fabric or wallpaper scraps.

•  Tree decorations can be made from natural materials such as popcorn, cranberries, pine cones, fruit or nuts. Decorations can be made from used items such as hair bows, neckties and cut-up holiday cards.

Environmental officials also encourage the giving of environmentally friendly gifts such as a compost bin, can crusher, water timer, programmable thermostat, rain barrel, house plant, bird feeder, light timers or bat house.

Reusable grocery and shopping bags help reduce landfill costs, and plastic and paper grocery bags can be re-used or recycled. Disposable plates, cups, napkins and silverware add to the waste stream.If you buy disposable products, look for ones with recycled content.

If a natural tree is part of the celebration, trees whose roots are in a burlap ball can be replanted after the holidays. If it can’t be replanted, it can be composted or chipped. Watauga County residents can bring their Christmas trees to the transfer station to be chipped for mulch at no charge.

County residents can also start of the new year with a resolution to recycle. Free bins are available from the Watauga County Recycling Office. Call (828) 265-4852 for bins and recycling information.