That’s a Wrap: Eco-Friendly Tips for the Holidays

Below is a reprinted blog article featured in Westtown School’s Blog: A Well-Lit Path written by Hannah Riegel of Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants.

*Try wrapping gifts with fabric and greens. Photo (Stock*)

This holiday season make an effort to be more intentional with how you wrap your holiday presents. Each year, about 227,000 miles worth of wrapping paper gets thrown away: that is enough to circle the planet nine times! Not only does wrapping gifts create waste, but consumers end up throwing away about $12.7 billion of wrapping paper, tissue paper, and gift bags .

While wrapping paper broadly falls under the category of “paper,” most rolls are not recyclable. Why? The addition of plastic coating, foil paper, cellophane, glitter, and sparkles makes this paper non-recyclable (AF&PA).

These staggering numbers illustrate the need for sustainable options. Here are 5 tips to wrap your gifts sustainably to help the planet AND save money!

1. Swap Wrapping Paper with Fabric

Do you have leftover fabric lying around or a fabric store nearby? Use colorful fabric to brighten any present sustainably. The fabric can be reused for future presents or given as an additional gift. Add leaves or flowers for a personal touch. See resources below for ways to wrap your gifts in fabric.

2. Upcycle Materials

Instead of looking to buy new git wrapping items, see if you can reuse or “upcycle” other materials you have at home. Get creative! Upcycle newspaper, comics, brown paper bags, glass jars, shipping boxes, or magazines.

*An example of presents wrapped in upcycled brown grocery bags and decorated in drawings, twine, and greenery. (Photo:* *Source*)

3. Buy Sustainable Alternatives

Wrapping paper that contains sparkles, artificial textures, glossy finishes, labels, or plastic is non-recyclable. But if you’re not sure, try this “scrunch test” to figure out whether your paper is recyclable. Scrunch the paper in your hand--if it stays in place, it can be recycled. If it expands, it can’t be recycled (AF&PA).

And what about those shiny, stick-on bows? They are non-recyclable. If you do choose to buy wrapping paper, be intentional with your choices and look for sustainable alternatives. Look for biodegradable tape, recyclable wrapping paper, and fabric ribbons.

*Repurpose old newspapers as wrapping paper (Photo:* *Source*)

4. Skip the Wrap!

Create a new holiday tradition this year by not wrapping your presents. Instead, you can make a scavenger hunt and hide presents around the house. This solution will keep all materials out of the landfill and add some fun to gift exchanges.

5. Flatten Cardboard

This simple -- yet overlooked -- task can make a big difference in the recycling process, especially during the holiday season, the number of packages being delivered increases. Flattening cardboard allows for more room in your recycling bin, and it also reduces space in transport to the recycling facility.

We hope these tips will help to reduce your environmental footprint this holiday season. Get creative, have fun with it! And don’t be afraid to start saving the gift bags and ribbons you receive this year. You can re-use them for future gift giving! Remember every change, no matter how big or small, is a step in the right direction towards a greener, sustainable future!

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