Greening the holidays: a baker's dozen of ideas
- Buy local foods from your nearest farmer's market - lowers transportation needs and supports local economies
- Recycle ribbons and other wrappings...if every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, 38,000 miles of ribbon would be saved and that could tie a bow around the Earth!
- Recycle your tree by grinding it into chips for mulch. See if your local city recycles trees or go to www.earth911.org for the nearest recycling or re-use locations
- Save 90% more energy with light strands made of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and remember smaller means lower wattage
- Carpool or walk to holiday parties
- Practice portion control while planning your menu, 28 billion pounds of edible food are wasted each year
- Give gifts that encourage others to be sustainable, like a cookbook for leftovers or reusable tote bags
- Donate unwanted gifts to charity
- Buy rechargeable batteries
- Send e-greetings instead of paper cards
- Wrap gifts in old newspaper or Sunday comics...or hide them and have a treasure hunt
- Compost your spoiled leftovers
- Start a savings account for your child and help teach financial conservation
Have an idea on how campus should go green? Submit a suggestion.