December 6, 2023
With Edmonton’s household waste nearly doubling during the holiday season, now is a good time for residents to start thinking about how to minimize the amount of holiday waste they create.
There are a number of easy changes residents can make to their holiday plans to reduce their waste footprint. Ahead of holiday shopping, residents should ask themselves three questions: What? Where? How?
- What’s being gifted? Consider giving experiences instead of items, like tickets to an event, a subscription to an online service, or a donation to a cause important to the recipient.
- Where is it coming from? Instead of ordering gifts online, consider local holiday markets. The Wasteless Holiday Market at the Reuse Centre on December 9 is a great place to find locally made gifts with minimal packaging.
- How is the gift being given? Wrapping presents in fabric gift bags or gift boxes, or reusing newspaper or tissue paper, cuts down on packaging and wrapping. It also adds that extra personal touch.
Food waste also peaks during the holiday season, but minimizing waste doesn’t mean minimizing enjoyment — it’s as easy as using what you have and preparing only how much you need.
- Plan menus in advance to help reduce the amount of leftover food. Try using an online portion calculator to plan the amount and variety of foods needed for your meal.
- Instead of purchasing disposable cutlery and dinnerware, residents can use what’s already in their cupboards and drawers.
- Afterwards, unopened treats and pantry staples can be donated to the food bank.
Once the gifts are opened and the meals are complete, properly sorting your waste is equally important as reducing your waste. Proper sorting helps keep waste out of the landfill, keeps our staff safe, and helps ensure our operations run efficiently.
While many kinds of wrapping paper and boxes can be recycled, other items, such as batteries and broken Christmas lights, need to go to the Eco Station for safe disposal. Simply placing these items in the garbage can pose a significant injury risk to staff who help sort waste or cause costly operational issues at our facilities.
Not sure where an item goes? Use the WasteWise app on edmonton.ca/WasteWise or download it for free from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
