Posted on by

EcoWise: How to Winnow the Waste Out of Your Holidays

In October, the youth group at Huguenot Memorial Church planned an event for 50 people with a key goal in mind: to generate zero waste.

According to Associate Pastor Jacob Bolton (above), the organizers asked the caterer – Modern Restaurant in New Rochelle — to deliver the food in recyclable foil tins and avoid using plastic wrap.

They clearly marked bins for recycling, composting, and regular trash. They even enlisted the help of Scarsdale’s composting activists to haul away the food scraps, since Pelham Manor does not have its own community food composting program. “What everyone realized throughout the night was nothing was going in the garbage,” Bolton said.

As we enter this month of gifts, galas — and garbage, you might give some thought to planning your own zero-waste gatherings.

The Environmental Protection Agency says Americans create 25 percent more waste during the holiday season than they do the rest of the year. While it’s hard to completely eliminate wrapping paper, boxes, and holiday cards, at least they’re recyclable.

EcoPel has culled a few handy tips to get you close to achieving that zero-waste goal:

  1. Use e-vites instead of paper invitations.
  2. Hang LED Christmas lights instead of incandescent lights, which use ten times more energy. Also consider reusable or natural decorations. Those pinecones littering your lawn could make the perfect centerpiece.
  3. Set the table with cloth napkins, china, and regular silverware – nothing plastic or paper.
  4. Serve hot beverages in ceramic mugs, rather than paper hot cups that actually aren’t recyclable because they are lined with a thin plastic coating.
  5. Turn down the heat. Once the guests arrive, they’ll warm up the house for you.
  6. Let your guests in on the zero-waste theme early. If they are bringing food, they, too, can use eco-friendly containers.
  7. Give the leftovers to your guests or to someone in need. Before tossing out those picked-over poultry carcasses and ham bones, squeeze out more nourishment by making soup stocks.
  8. Compost, if possible. If you have a bin in the backyard or other eco-solution for disposing of food scraps, paper towels, and coffee grinds, you have a much better chance of hitting the zero-waste mark.