10 Tips For A Zero-Waste Holiday
Did You Know?
It’s estimated that during the holiday season an extra 1 million tons of waste is produced each week in the United States alone. Check out our list of zero-waste tips for a sustainable holiday that doesn't contribute to the plastic waste crisis.
1. Eat Local Seasonal Food
Food typically travels about 1,500 miles from farm to plate. In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. During the holidays, food waste increases by 25%. We can reduce food waste by creating and sticking to shopping lists, freezing extra food, and home composting or donating uneaten food to a local food bank (Cape May Community Food Closet or The Branches Outreach). If you’re hosting, try to serve organic or locally grown/seasonal foods and prepare only as much food as needed. Local farms to support: Enfin Farm, Reas Farm, Potato Homestead, Stone Circle Farm, Central Park Farm, Beach Plum Farm, No Frills Farm, Stiles Farm, Woodsong Mushrooms (pop ups), Cape May Honey Farm, and Seashore Flower Farm.
2. Use Reusable Dishware
Use reusable dishware, utensils, and napkins. If you must use disposable options – make sure they are made out of biodegradable or compostable materials so they don't end up in landfills after being thrown away. At Good Deeds Market, we offer a bamboo utensil set as an eco-alternative to plastic utensils.
3. Take Public Transportation & Stack Visits
If you are traveling during the holidays, consider taking public transportation or car pooling with friends or relatives. “Stack” your visits to make the miles spent on the road as efficient as possible.
4. Buy Sustainable Gifts
The amount of increased travel during the holidays leaves a massive carbon footprint. And it's not just people trying to get home for the holiday – those extra gift deliveries often make a trip across the ocean before ending up on your doorstep. For sustainable gifting, shop locally and focus on zero-waste products, organic merchandise, second-hand items, food, experiences, charities or a combination of these options. Consider clothing and accessories made with natural materials such as wool, cotton, bamboo, hemp, or silk and toys made from bamboo or wood. Purchase second-hand clothing and toys from Facebook marketplace, buy nothing Facebook groups, or local thrift stores. Experience gift ideas include tickets to revolution rail co, tours, plays, movies, museums, concerts, sports events, art classes, music lessons, pottery lessons etc. Membership to organizations such as Cape May MAC or donations to meaningful charities are also thoughtful sustainable gift options. Consider homemade gifts or locally baked goods such as Cape May Macarons or Chez Michel. Here is a list of some local sustainable shops in Cape May County: Good Deeds Market, The Days Sustainable Apparel, Guppi, Bowfish Kids, and Whippersnapper
5. Send Plantable Seed Cards, Digital Cards, or Repurposed Cards
About 2.65 billion holiday cards are sold each year in the U.S. -- that amount could fill a football field 10 stories high. Often times holiday cards are made with non-recyclable elements such as foil, glitter, plastic embossments, or come in plastic sleeves. Consider plastic-free plantable seed cards made from post-consumer waste, digital cards, or reusing cards from the previous year as postcards or gift tags.
6.Wear Thrifted Holiday Attire
Holiday clothing for kids can be just as bad as Halloween costumes considering the fact that they are often-times worn once for a family photoshoot or a holiday party. Consider dressing your kids up in second hand clothing from a local thrift store, wearing an outfit handed down from an older sibling, or something they can wear all season long. One of our favorite local thrift stores in Cape May County is Whippersnapper, which specializes in curated secondhand kids apparel, accessories, and shoes.
7. Use a Real Potted Tree That Can Be Potted or Donate It
Fake Christmas trees contain PVC, a toxic carcinogen that is difficult to dispose. Once the trees are disposed of, the plastic will likely take thousands of years to break down. Christmas tree farms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release clean oxygen back in. The most sustainable Christmas tree option is to find a Christmas tree farm that rents potted trees and then re-plants them at the end of the season. If you can’t find a potted one, but still opt for a real tree, consider donating it instead of putting it at the curb. The Cape May County Zoo collects used Christmas trees for their animals to play with. The donated Christmas trees are put to several uses at the zoo, including as outdoor habitats, snacks for some animals, and toys for others. And once the animals have gotten their fill, the trees are ground up to use for mulch. But if a plastic Christmas tree works better for your needs or you already have one, keep it for at least 5 to 10 years.
8. Use LED Lights
Consider using LED lights for energy-saving home decorations. Use a timer to control when the lights are on to save even more energy. By switching to LED lights, families can cut down on energy use for Christmas lights by up to 95% compared to traditional options.
9. Make Decorations From Your Yard
Select eco-friendly, compostable decorations like cranberries, popcorn, fresh flowers, pine cones, or greenery from your garden.
10. Use Recycled or Repurposed Wrapping Paper
About 8,000 tons of wrapping paper, the equivalent of about 50,000 trees, is used to wrap gifts each year. If every American family wrapped just three presents in reused materials, such as a magazine or comic book pages, old maps or brown paper bags, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
