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Between Thanksgiving and New Years, Americans increase their landfill waste by about 25%. Mindful of your household garbage this holiday season is one of the greatest gifts you can give the earth and ultimately our families and our future.
Regionally grown foods are good for your health and the environment. It’s fresher than food, which has to be packaged for maximum shelf life, and it takes less fuel to reach the shelves. You also support local food producers in your community!
This is an excellent time to practice gratitude, take time to meditate, or take a walk to give thanks for nature’s gifts.
Give back to your community and, instead of giving gifts, ask a loved one to donate on your behalf to a cause you care about.
Speaking of gifts: give away an “experience” instead of a traditional gift. You could also consider giving your loved one a used item or repairing something useful. Get more ideas here.
Show your creative side by cutting out pictures from last year’s Christmas calendar, wrapping paper, cards or Christmas flyers to create unique Christmas cards.
If you or your loved ones are away for the holidays, try driving instead of flying. However you travel, consider offsetting the fossil fuel pollution caused by your trip by The Good Traveler.
When tidying up and tidying up on the holidays, be sure to donate clothing, stuffed animals, books, and other carefully used items to a local nonprofit.
Instead of filling up landfills, break out the cloth napkins, tablecloths, reusable dishes and cutlery.
We hope these green vacation tips are useful in your own home this year. Sometimes a greener choice will require a little more time and money. However, it is important to reduce our impact on the world around us if we want our children to grow up in a world they can be grateful for.
News, ideas and inspiration from the Office of Sustainability to help drive a bright green future for Austin.
This press release was produced by the City of Austin. The views expressed here are your own.
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https://patch.com/texas/downtownaustin/how-have-green-holiday-season-city-austin
