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With holiday cheer comes holiday waste. Here's how to reduce yours
Plain paper is a very recyclable wrapping for presents.
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Mel Poole
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Unsplash
)
Topline:
With all that holiday cheer comes a lot more trash. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that Americans throw away about 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Years.
Why it matters: Our society continues to have a big problem with waste. Despite policy efforts to reduce waste, the volume of what we throw away continues to increase.
How to reduce your waste:
- Make sure to put food waste in the green bin, according to your city or county’s rules, so it can be composted or turned into fuel, instead of decomposing in a landfill where it releases methane, a planet-heating greenhouse gas.
- Cardboard boxes and wrapping paper without glitter or that metallic sheen can be recycled, along with the tape. Bows and ribbons can’t, but you can reuse them next year.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
