Have a green Christmas
Shawn Brady of Manchester Township takes his family's three Christmas trees to Solid Waste and Refuse Authority's yard waste compost site off of Flour Mill Road in Manchester Township last year. Recycling live trees is one way to have a 'green Christmas.'
By ERIN ESMONT for Smart
When compiling this year’s holiday to-do list, take a moment to consider the environmental impact of your annual shopping and decorating rituals.
With 25 million more tons of trash generated during the holiday season, some communities nationwide have begun promoting “Waste-Free Holidays” that advocate giving gifts (such as passes to concerts, plays and museums) that emphasize a shared experience over an actual present that will wind up in the waste stream.
Consumers who want to “Go Green” this year have an array of choices, and plenty of time — if they start now — to decide how to reduce and recycle waste instead of parking overflowing trash receptacles at the curb in January.
It can start with giving green gifts — lingerie made from bamboo, recycled paper produced using Fair Trade labor, or buying renewable energy credits for everyone on your list. (For ideas, go to www.ecoshopper.com).
It can include family-friendly activities, such as making Christmas ornaments using CDs, old Christmas cards and soft-drink cans, or decorating a tree outside, in addition to or instead of an inside tree, with nuts and seeds for your feathered friends.
Or, it can mean a no-wrap holiday, where paper wrapping is replaced with recyclable gift bags, or reused materials such as old maps, brochures and fabric.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently released a list of ways consumers can be more environmentally aware this holiday season at http://www.epa.gov/osw/specials/funfacts/winter.htm.
Christmas trees
A live tree is more environmentally friendly than a cut tree. Yet it is also more work, which may explain why consumers haven’t embraced these trees to create a new Christmas tradition. Live trees require careful handling and planning, and consumers who want to successfully transplant the tree need to follow a multistep process.
Rockelman’s Nursery owner John Rockelman bought dozens of live trees last year in anticipation of demand from consumers growing more concerned about the environment. His hunch didn’t pay off, though, as only a handful of trees were sold at the Spry nursery.
“We were really disappointed,’’ manager Katie Kauffman said.
She attributes the disinterest to the additional work and effort live trees require.
For starters, live trees cost more: $139 for a 5-foot to 6-foot evergreen or $110 for a 4-foot to 5-foot evergreen.
Granted, the live tree can be planted afterward unlike a cut Christmas tree, and the cost is comparable to a maple tree of similar size. Yet it’s a heftier investment than a standard cut tree ($40-$50 on average), and successful transplantation isn’t a guarantee.
Kauffman explained that the trees are heavy, probably 200 pounds on average, when the pot and dirt are factored in. So handling and transporting one is tricky. At home, the tree must sit in a garage, to help it transition from the colder outdoors to the warmer indoors.
Once inside, it can only stay up for two weeks before it has to be planted outside. If the ground is frozen, the dirt must be dug up and warmed in a garage before planting the live tree.
“It can be a bit of a hassle,” Kauffman said.
The remaining live trees were put on sale this spring, at 30 percent off. A few more sold as landscaping evergreens.
Kauffman said her boss’s plans for this holiday season: “He wasn’t planning live Christmas trees this year because we had such a bad result last year.”
Resolve to recycle a dead tree
York County residents can dispose of their trees curbside (if their haulers provide that service) or, starting Dec. 26, by taking them to the Solid Waste Authority’s Waste Transfer Facility or to the William H. Kain County Park (Lake Redman boat launch area) during daylight hours.
Remove all decorations, and don’t bag the tree. At no cost to the consumer, the trees are sent to a facility where they are shredded and used for mulch.
Ellen O’Connor, spokeswoman for the Solid Waste Authority, commends the many residents who take the time to use the program. “A lot of people do it as a family event and to model good behavior to their children,” she said. For details, check out www.ycswa.com.
Cameras
Ditch the disposable in favor of a digital camera that allows you to edit unwanted pictures.
Entertaining
It will make more work for the hostess, but it will help the Earth: Use regular dishes and utensils for parties. No more easy cleanup with paper products.
Holiday cards
Hallmark estimates that, industrywide, 2.2 billion cards are sent in America each Christmas. That’s a lot of paper. Consumers should look for cards printed primarily on recycled stock. Check the label on the back.
Hallmark, for example, carries greeting cards in four card lines that are printed primarily on recycled stock, and the back of the card read: “Minimum 20 percent post-consumer fiber,” said Deidre Parkes, a spokeswoman for Hallmark.
The majority of Hallmark’s greeting cards use paper stock made primarily from certified sustainably managed forest. Nearly all the cards produced by Hallmark for UNICEF come from those forests. Plus, the boxes for UNICEF notecards are made with 100 percent recycled box board material, she said.
Hallmark doesn’t offer any recycled wrapping paper, but the cores from the wrapping paper rolls are made of 100 percent recycled fiber, Parkes said.
Representatives from several greeting card stores in the York area said their customers aren’t requesting recycled cards or wrapping paper.
Shopping bags
When heading to the mall, take your own cloth shopping bag and turn down clerks’ offers of plastic bags.
Holiday lights
Frosty doesn't need to shine all day. Unplug him during the day to save energy.
Turn off or unplug holiday lights during the day. It saves energy, and it allows the lights to last longer.
Wrapping paper
Use wrapping paper over again. Check with your municipal office to see whether wrapping paper can be placed in the recycling bin. Look for other materials you can repurpose as wrapping paper: the comics section of the newspaper, an old map. Make a conscious effort to give gifts that require little to no wrapping, such as concert tickets or gift cards. Or, choose gift bags.
Toys
Look for toys that are durable and well-made and will last for years to come. The cheaper the toy, the sooner it will end up in the waste cycle.
Batteries
About 40 percent of all battery sales occur during the holiday season. Buy rechargeable batteries to accompany your electronic gifts, and consider giving a battery charger as well. Rechargeable batteries reduce the amount of potentially harmful materials thrown away and can save money in the long run. (Go to www.ycswa.com to find out where to take batteries locally for disposal.)
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