In the spirit of the mission and goals at The Morton Arboretum, check our these 12 tips for a “greener, healthier & more beautiful world” this holiday season - and the whole year through.1. Turn off or unplug holiday lights during the day or put holiday lights on a timer. Doing so will not only save energy, but will also help your lights last longer. (EPA)
2. Wrap gifts in fabric, recycled or reused wrapping paper or newspapers.
3. Save wrapping paper and boxes to reuse. If you can’t reuse, recycle as much wrapping paper as possible. Please note: foil, tyvek, plastic backed wrapping paper and ribbon is “garbage” and contaminates the recycling process.
4. Donate the older toys that you no longer use (or that set of tacky candlesticks from Aunt Myrtle) to charities.
5. Reuse the fronts of old holiday cards as gift tags, DIY ornaments (fun for kids!), make them into new cards, or donate them to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. This charity recycles old cards by making brand-new ones. The money from these new cards is donated to the help children who were the victims of abuse, neglect and abandonment.
6.For holiday parties and family dinners, use reusable glass or plastic ware, and cloth napkins.
7. Make a New Year’s resolution to switch to recycled or eco-friendly products for your office and at home.
8. As you do your holiday shopping, shopping for holiday dinners and parties or your shopping at the after Christmas sales, remember to bring your reusable bags.
9. Need a last-minute gift? Give gifts of service (like cooking dinner, washing the car, baking, babysitting) or donations to a favorite charity rather then material items.
10. As the temperatures fall, gift yourself a programmable thermostat.
11. Shopping for new holiday lights at the after-Christmas sales? Make sure to purchase energy efficient LED lights.
12. After parties and holiday meals, fill your dishwasher to capacity before running it. You will run fewer cycles, which saves energy.
Get more great tips at the following websites, including how to recycle your holiday lights and greeting cards:
http://www.scarceecoed.org/recycling/recycling-events/175-christmas-light-recycling.html
http://www.epa.gov/students/holiday.html
http://pages.uoregon.edu/recycle/green_holiday_text.htm
http://www.nature.org/greenliving/gogreen/greenholidays/index.htm
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/reuse-holiday-greeting-cards.htm
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/holidays/green-holidays-tips.html
http://www.epa.gov/students/
http://pages.uoregon.edu/
http://www.nature.org/
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/
http://planetgreen.discovery.
The Morton Arboretum
Resource Conservation Committee
Kris Bachtell, Leadership Team Liaison
