10 Tips for a Sustainably Festive Holiday Season
Tis the season to waste less! This is particularly difficult challenge because Americans throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to about 1 million extra tons per week. Christmas is a time of excess, but Keep Knoxville Beautiful wants to help you reduce your holiday waste, so check out these tips on how to have a sustainably festive holiday season!
1. To be real or to be artificial – that is the age old Christmas tree question!
Real trees are more environmentally friendly, but because of the yearly expense or where you live (many apartment complexes don’t permit live trees), they are not always an option for everyone. Check out this Christmas tree flow chart to decide which option is best for you. If you do use an artificial tree, make sure to use it for as many years as possible and then donate it to a secondhand store like KARM Stores Christmas Store.
2. After the holidays, recycle your real Christmas tree.
If you live in the city, once your tree is clear of all its decorations, place it by the curb for brush collection. If you live in the county, you can take your tree to one of the following recycling centers after January 1, 2022:
Downtown Knoxville at Christmas. Photo from Visit Knoxville.
Carter Convenience Center – 8815 Asheville Highway
Dutchtown Convenience Center – 10618 Dutchtown Road
Halls Convenience Center – 3608 Neal Drive
John Sevier Convenience Center – 1950 West John Sevier Highway
Karns Convenience Center – 6930 Karns Crossing Lane
Powell Convenience Center – 7311 Morton View Lane
Tazewell Pike Convenience Center – 7201 Tazewell Pike
3. Gift experiences instead of physical items.
Instead of purchasing something that might end up taking space and gathering dust in the closet, give the gift of an experience with your loved one! Movie or concert tickets, a trip to a museum with lunch or dinner afterwards, or going on a hike in the Smokies and paying for gas – all of these are meaningful gifts that won’t eventually end up in the trash.
4. make sure to shop local.
Head to the Holiday Farmers’ Market or check out The Maker City’s directory of local artists who make all kinds of amazing handmade goods.
DIY Silver Bells. Photo from Kenneth Wingard.
5. Quality over Quantity.
If you’re not sure if your loved one would enjoy an experiential gift, then choose big gift instead of multiple smaller ones. This will cut down on packaging waste, and also decrease the likelihood that it will end up in the trash.
6. nix the wrapping paper.
Use gift boxes and bags that can be used again and again, and save ribbons and tissue paper for next year’s gifts.
7. Go DIY with your decor.
Christmas decorations are a staple of the holiday, and handmade Christmas decorations are often the most special of them all. Check out these homemade ornaments, a foraged holiday wreath, and these giant silver bells made out of recycled planting pots.
8. Shop Second-Hand.
If you aren’t very DIY, check out KARM Stores Christmas Store and other second-hand shops around Knoxville for everything from artificial Christmas trees to gift bags to wreaths.
9. Save Energy.
Speaking of decorations, make sure to use LED lights if you are making your holiday merry and bright! Make sure to turn your lights off during the day, or if you want to be even eco-friendlier, turn them off before you go to bed each night.
10. Transform your leftovers into a new meal.
Who doesn’t love a huge Christmas dinner? The turkey and all the trimmings can create a lot of food waste though! A great thing to do is prepare less food so that you aren’t left with as much waste. If you do have lots of leftovers after Christmas dinner, check out these Christmas leftovers recipes from Olive Magazine and Saveur to put a new twist on those leftovers so that eating them until New Year’s is less of a task and more of a treat!