During the holiday season, between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, Americans will generate 25 % more trash than within the same period of any other time of the year. Holiday food waste, shopping bags, bows and ribbons, packaging, and wrapping paper contribute an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills. (U.S. EPA, 2016). Let’s be grateful, not wasteful this holiday season, shall we?

Stuff the Turkey, Not the Trash Bin

Holiday season panic...we all experience it twofold. First in the store: How much food do I buy? Are you sure that will be enough? Is this turkey big enough? And second time at home: Who is going to eat all of this? Where am I going to put all of these leftovers?! Millions of pounds of leftover food are thrown away every year. But there is a way to plan more accordingly and load off some of the stress with the pointless leftovers.

1. Have an accurate head count to plan portions accordingly. If you are still not sure how much food you should buy, you can use a tool to help estimate how much food you will need based on your head count, e.g. Save the Food's Guest-imator.

2. Purchase imperfect produce for cooked dishes, such as bruised apples for apple pie.

3. Encourage guests to bring a reusable container they can bring leftovers home in or lend them yours.

4. Enjoy your leftovers days after by creating new dishes like turkey soup or hot turkey sandwiches. If you are out of ides, get inspiration from websites collecting leftover food recipes, e.g. Save the Food or Love Food Hate Waste.

5. Be realistic about the leftovers you can eat, and freeze the extra that won't last in the refrigerator. You can always defrost it based on demand!

6. If you have any uncarved pumpkins left from Halloween, you can make a soup or a pie. Don’t know how to make a homemade pumpkin puree? It’s simpler than you may think!

Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide

We all know how difficult it is to get our close ones something they would appreciate. Something they don’t have yet, maybe even something they wouldn’t think of getting for themselves, yet something thast is not destined for a yard sale. Here are few tips on how to do all that without breaking the bank!

1. Gift an experience! Invite people to do something they have never done before or what they really enjoy. Plan a weekend getaway, hit the slopes, go hiking, cross country skiing or snowshoeing. Enjoy a cooking, art or fitness class, visit a museum, or see a musical or theater production. But how to wrap this under a Christmas tree? Print personalized gift certificate!

2. Gift a reusable mug, water bottle, plate, silverware, to go container, shopping bag, bulk fruit and vegetable mesh bags, etc. And if that doesn’t seem enough, you can make an ‘on-the-go kit’ filled with various reusable items!

3. Give back to the community by donating to a non-profit organization in the name of a loved one or donate your time together helping out a local organization.

4. Create, bake or craft unique gifts. Make edible gifts to share like breads, cookies, fruit & nut mixes, jams, jellies and herbed vinegars or olive oils and decorate a reusable jar instead of gift wrapping. Knit a scarf, crochet a hat or mittens, paint a watercolour, embroider or wood burn a design, carve a spoon or design your own jewellery.

5. And if you decide to buy a gift that needs wrapping, consider saving money and using materials that you already have at home, such as old paper bags, washed jars from preserves or even cardboard boxes from rolls of parchment paper or foil to create original packaging. If you don’t feel creative or don’t have the time, it may be niftier to use a gift bag or a reusable elastic gift wrap which is not only easier to use than wrapping paper but also can be stored and reused next year!

For even more sustainability tips over the Holidays see EPA website.

Happy holidays full of joy and happiness from our SJC family!