Zero Waste Tip: Having a Zero Waste Holiday Season

Let’s talk about all those catalogues and special offers stuffed in your mailbox. Catalogues waste a lot of paper, and once you get on one list, then you’re apt to find yourself getting catalogues you never asked for.

Zero Waste Tip: Having a Zero Waste Holiday Season KGNU News

So as soon as you receive an unwanted publication, call their 1-800 number and ask to be removed from their list. Learn more tricks, including 6 steps to getting off and staying off mailing lists at www.ecocycle.org/junkmail

Got a holiday party coming up? Make it Zero Waste by refusing disposable dishware and use real dishes instead. Yes, you have to use water to wash them but it’s still better than getting disposal plastic service ware that goes straight to the landfill when you’re through with it. You can pick up an inexpensive set at a thrift store or borrow from friends if you don’t have enough. And remember to ask your guests to bring containers for leftovers.

Next up? Lights. I love, love, love twinkly colorful lights in the dark of winter. But traditional incandescent holiday lights are huge energy suckers, so much so that we recommend recycling your old lights and investing in LEDs, which consume 80 percent less electricity and last up to 25 times longer than incandescents. If you want to recycle old lights, please take them to the Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials in Boulder or the Longmont Waste Diversion Center. For hours and drop-off locations in the mountains, check Eco-Cycle’s Holiday recycling guide on our website.

And last but not least, Batteries. Every year, more than 15 billion batteries are produced globally. Many are alkaline and thrown away after a single use. But rechargeable batteries instead. They’ll save you money and help protect our environment.

If you’ve got questions or ideas for making the holidays Zero Waste, feel free to call our hotline at 303.444.6634 during normal business hours.

KGNU will bring you recycling tips and covering zero waste issues throughout the year in partnership with Eco-Cycle, thanks to a grant from Boulder County.