Household waste can increase by more than 25% over the holidays!
Prioritizing the first two R’s Reduce and Reuse can help ensure a most sustainable Christmas that conserves resources and prevents waste. These two R’s can also help you focus on making lasting memories rather than just more stuff.
Experience gifts can make a great way to celebrate and help avoid waste!
Low Waste Gift Ideas
Looking for even more ideas?
Our friends at Metro Vancouver have created a helpful resource to help you find hundreds of low-waste gift and holiday ideas. Search the Merry Memory Maker for and find tips to wrap gifts sustainably:
More Holiday Waste Reduction Tips:
- Find even more ideas for a variety of ecofriendly gifts, Christmas Trees Guides and Zero Waste Dining with: Recycling Council of BC Holiday Guides
- Reduce holiday food waste with tips from: Love Food Hate Waste.
- Avoid single-use, choose reusable cloth napkins and containers for leftovers (encourage company to bring their own containers). Go Reusable, Avoid Single-Use Tips. Also, consider decorations that can last many years...
- Christmas light strings that are no longer working can be recycled at depots that accept light fixtures; find these locations and a wide range of recycling and waste reduction options on the RDNO What Goes Where Guide.
- Natural Christmas trees (decorations and tinsel removed) are accepted free of charge in the Yard & Garden Waste area at RDNO Diversion & Disposal Facilities in Vernon, Armstrong or Lumby. Other local Christmas Tree Chipping events will be posted later in December at: rcbc.ca.
- Most packaging and paper products are now accepted in the Recycle BC curbside and depot programs, learn more with the Recycle BC Holiday Recycling Guide. But remember, its even better to reduce and reuse!