The environmental impact of the holiday season is significant. That's an increase of more than one-third over the trash we normally throw away in a week. You can't take back what the garbage truck has already hauled away, of course. You can, however, curtail what goes to the curb next week by reusing as much of the holiday debris as you can. Here are some ways to do it.
Gift wrappings Wrapping paper is a big environmental culprit.
Much of it is printed with environmentally harmful ink, says Eric Brown, communications director for the Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofit organization in Takoma Park, Md., that discourages excessive consumption. Keep the cardboard cylinders that the paper came on, and roll the paper and ribbons back over them, he suggests. Both wrapping paper and ribbons can be ironed on a low setting to freshen them. If the paper's a little ragged, use it for wrapping the kids' presents. That cuts automobile emissions, another environmental benefit.