Sustainability Tip of the Week
A simple wish for a better tomorrow
10 Tips to Help Skip the Plastic, Reduce Waste, and Give Green
1. Choose Plastic-Free Gifts That Prevent Waste
Looking for the perfect practical gift? Reusable metal, glass, or ceramic water bottles and travel mugs are plastic-free gifts that will also help the recipient to reduce future waste! Other zero-waste gifts include bamboo utensil sets, stainless steel straws, loose tea and tea strainers, beeswax food wrap, Swedish reusable cloths, reusable bowl covers, reusable cotton tote bags, stainless steel or ceramic compost containers, and so much more.
2. Give a Gift Subscription or Certificate To A Zero-Waste Service
Purchasing a gift certificate or subscription to one of the many excellent zero-plastic and low or zero-waste products, stores, and services out there can be a great way to bring a family member or friend into the fold. A few to consider include Plaine Products, Blueland, HumanKind, Package-Free Shop, and Loop Store but there are more and more out there to choose from and you might enjoy the research.
3. Choose Plastic-Free Clothing
Everyone loves a comfy pair of PJs or some new socks for the holidays. Unfortunately, most of our clothing is made from synthetic materials like polyester and nylon which contain plastic fibers. But there are plenty of fun and affordable brands that use materials like recycled cotton, linen, and wool. Need somewhere to get started? The free app GoodOnYou can help you find the best brands to buy from this season. Or consider buying a gently used item of clothing from thredUp or good old eBay.
4. Give an Experience
We’ve all been spending a lot of time inside lately. While we all need to stay safe right now, there’s no reason we can’t look forward to doing things once it’s safe to be out and about again. Gifting experiences is a great way to reduce waste and raise low spirits. Whether it’s a membership to an outdoor zoo that can be used now or the promise of a long-anticipated trip to Paris, this could be a hit.
5. Support a Local Farm & Feed a Loved One
Consider buying a friend or family member a share (or a half share) in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm near them. You can look for farms that offer winter CSA shares or purchase one that begins in the spring. This is a great way to support a local farm while also helping the lucky recipient feed themselves and their family with fresh, nutritious goodies. Consider providing some of your favorite recipes along with the CSA share to round out the package. If you don’t know where to start, you can do a search for CSAs through Local Harvest or the USDA’s database.
6. Give the Gift of Giving to Others in Need
For that person who already “has it all,” the gift of giving could be a great choice. Make a donation in their honor to a charity you think they’d appreciate (hint: Beyond Plastics is a great option!) and send them a card sharing the gift. Or, if you think they’d prefer to be more hands-on, consider setting them up with a pre-paid micro-lender account through an organization like Kiva to allow them to choose the recipients of their microloans. This could be a particularly good way to help a young person experience philanthropy directly. Other places with great meaningful virtual gifts that give back include Oxfam America and Heifer International and many environmental nonprofits offer wildlife “adoption” programs.
7. Make Your Own Gifts|Homemade items are the way to go for truly unique and special presents. DIY candles, baked goods, bath salts, tea mixes, spices, and even games can be easy and customizable gifts! Click here for some DIY gift ideas.
8. Give An Old Item New Life
Re-gifting is great! If you own an item that you’re ready to part with and think someone else would enjoy, wrap it up (see tips below), and pass it along. Vintage and used items also make excellent holiday gifts. There are so many wonderful books, household items, pieces of clothing and jewelry, tools, and more that deserve a second (or third or fourth) chance to be useful and provide joy waiting to be discovered. You can browse eBay or Etsy to find special gifts. Or, if local conditions allow you to visit an antiques shop, second-hand bookstore, thrift store, or auction (fully masked and socially-distanced, of course), those are also perfect places to look for finds.
9. Entertain With an Online or Streaming Subscription
We’re all facing a long, isolated winter. A subscription or gift certificate to a streaming platform, an audiobook platform, an online music service, or an online newspaper or magazine could help your loved ones stay entertained and informed without requiring any new plastic or disposable items.
10. Wrap It Up Right|
Wrapping paper is laminated in a thin film of plastic, making it non-recyclable. This year, look around your home for alternatives. Newspapers and paper grocery bags work really well. If you have kids, stamping a pattern on a used grocery bag can be a fun activity, too. If you want to go the extra mile, old book pages, tote bags, and scrap fabric make for cute and unique wrapping. And when you’re unwrapping gifts, save the wrapping paper and ribbons to use them again. If your family enjoys a little friendly competition, you can even keep score to see who can reuse a given piece of paper the most times (warning, this could stretch on for years!).
Source: @PlasticsBeyond / https://www.beyondplastics.org/green-gifts
Faculty, staff and students, please share your sustainable ideas for our weekly tip to j.coons@hvcc.edu.
Published: Tue, 08 Dec 2020 13:05:52 +0000 by j.coons