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This Christmas Try The Four R’s
By GreenCompany | December 15, 2009
This holiday season can be a good time to practice good green processes with your family and friends by following the four R’s. By Re-Designing, Re-Wrapping, Re-Gifting, and Re-Planting your holiday season can be clean and green. Not only that you can spend more valuable time with your family in the process!
Canadian polling firm Ipsos Reid was commissioned to conduct a survey by Waste Management Inc, who more often that not gets the usual post-Christmas flood of garbage each holiday season. The survey though found many Canadians are bucking the old trend and are aiming to have less environmental impact this Christmas season.
The survey Waste Management commissioned set out to learn more about Canadians’ holiday habits while looking for ways to find methods to make for a greener Christmas season. Wes Muir the Director of Corporate Communications for Waste Management said of the survey, “Canadians typically produce, on average, 25% more trash in the month of December than in any other month.” Not only do they create more garbage that month, that pile of garbage takes away from family time as upwards of one hour is spent dealing with the mess!
From coast to coast, Canadians are discovering some new ways to cut down on their created waste while enjoying the season. To this end, Canadians are discovering that they can make for a greener more environmentally friendly Christmas season by re-gifting, re-wrapping, re-planting and re-designing.
Re-Gifting
The survey found that some twelve per cent of Canadians re-gift each Christmas season. And nearly 50 per cent of Canadians admit to having re-gifted presents they once received. But of course, by re-gifting they are helping to save the environment by reducing demand for new products.
Re-Wrapping
One of the largest sources of garbage and waste each holiday season comes from wrapping paper. Many of us may have seen our grandparents neatly folding wrapping paper each season if it wasn’t destroyed by children and the young at heart in their glee of opening presents Christmas morning, and the environment certainly thanks them for passing that on.
The survey found 14 per cent are going to re-use their wrapping paper this season. Over half of those surveyed said they would recycle the paper they use while about one quarter will try re-usable bags. You can also consider giving gifts that don’t need wrapping, or simply unwrapped altogether.
Re-Designing
Christmas cards and Christmas letters seem as normal each Christmas season as does snow in winter in Canada, but most Canadians garbage Christmas cards very quickly after getting them. Christmas letters are not received all that well either. Don’t feel bad, but almost 20 per cent of Canadians think your Christmas letter is cheesy and even annoying! So instead of just sending them out without forethought, consider electronic cards and emails this season. They might not fit on the table, but they certainly go a long way to saving the environment without the annoying factor!
Re-Planting
Three quarters of those surveyed will display a Christmas tree this holiday season. Local tree recycling programs will see heavy usage though as the same amount will recycle it after the season is over. If the possibility exists you should consider buying a potted tree this holiday season as it can be planted come spring time. Trees like this can also make good environmentally friendly gifts!
Category: Green Living, Green News, Green Shopping
Tags: Canada, Canadians, christmas, environment, green, products, recycle No Comments »