During New Year’s Holidays We Create 25% More Waste

For many the most beautiful time of the year, New Year’s and Christmas holidays, is also the time when the most waste is created. A study carried out at the Stanford University has shown that in the period between Thanksgiving and New Year, Americans throw out 25% more waste than in any other period. That includes waste from food, decoration, giftwrapping paper and items returned after an online purchase.

An average American generates 2.2 kilograms of waste a day, which, during the holidays, increases to 2.8 kilograms. With a population of 330 million, this means that, during the holiday period, over 1.3 million tons of additional waste is created weekly.

Non-rational online shopping and consumer fever also contributes to the increased generation of waste. An estimated 8.75 million packages were returned in January last year, and many of them do not end up in stores at all, but at landfills.

What you can do to reduce waste during the holidays:

– Plan meals in line with the number of guests and don’t overdo the food preparation

– Use old holiday decoration or make ornaments yourself

– Instead of purchasing clothes, gift your closest ones a subscription to a language or dance school, or a gym

– Wrap you gifts in newspaper or multi-use bags

Stanford University

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