Make Your Holidays Merry… and Green

(Less Wasteful, That Is)

Christmas RecyclingThe holiday season is a wonderful time for family gatherings filled with cheer, delicious treats, gift exchanges and… trash. Do your part this holiday season to get more out of the former by producing less of the latter. Here are a few tips to cut the waste out of the season:

Wrapping paper

Nonfoil wrapping paper can be recycled in your recycling cart. Purchasing wrapping paper that can be recycled will prevent a balled-up mass of paper ending up in your trash can.

An even better option — repurpose another paper product like newspaper or kraft paper to wrap your gifts. Customize it with your own art to give your giving some character!

Holiday feast leftovers

When everyone’s appetite is satisfied and the leftovers are kept for later consumption, compost the rest! Food products like bones, vegetable cuttings, meat scraps and plate scrapings can be put in your compost cart in Kitsap County (where available). It’s not just for yard waste anymore — include the food! Find more information here.

Cooking oil

Planning on deep frying a turkey? Your spent oil is recyclable. There are multiple locations in Kitsap County to recycle it. The oil collected at these locations is recycled into biodiesel right here in the Puget Sound area.

Christmas trees and natural wreaths

Time to get that dry tree out of the house? Take it to any of the drop-off locations or fundraisers located throughout the county. If you have curbside compost (yard waste) service and a saw, you can also cut it up and put it in the bin for pickup on your regularly scheduled collection day.

Packaging

With gift giving comes the residual packaging. It should be nothing new to most folks that you can put all those carboard boxes in your recycling cart, or drop them off at a recycling site.

Many might wonder: “What do I do with all the Styrofoam that held the items still in the box?” There’s an answer this year! Kitsap County will be hosting its first-ever Styro-Roundup on Dec. 30. All Kitsap residents are invited to bring their polystyrene foam to the Kitsap Fairgrounds to have it recycled free of charge. Click here for more information.

These are just a few ideas to cut down on the “stuff” this holiday season. For more tips, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at cpiercy@co.kitsap.wa.us or at 360-337-4898.