Low-waste Holiday Traditions
by Shenandoah Marr
With the holidays upon us comes the endless Black Friday “sales” with the pressure to buy, buy, buy that ultimately creates excessive waste and tapped out bank accounts and credit cards. We believe this angst of making the “right” and enough purchases misses the whole point of the holidays and what we actually crave and need; community, tradition, rest, and relaxation and lovingly prepared food.
Of course, we all need to buy things sometimes. To help you make some local, sustainable choices for your necessary purchase we’ve put together this shopping guide. We’re also working on updating this guide, check out how you can help us be in the know of all things low and zero wasteAs a zero waste principle we recommend shopping locally whenever possible. Money spent at a locally owned business means more of it stays in the community, about 70% more, than if you spent it at a big-box retailer such as Amazon, Wal-Mart, or Target. Spokane is fortunate to have locally-owned and operated bookstores, candle makers, soap makers, breweries and loads of artisans making everything from clothing to dishware. We encourage you to take the time to get familiar with these local shops and makers for your gift-giving needs this holiday season.
Creating new low-waste holiday traditions
Holidays are a time of celebration and these celebrations often involve large amounts of food. Sadly, an abundance of waste often accompanies this abundance of food. In fact food waste is the largest component of landfills and is a primary source of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. Here are some tips to make your holiday less wasteful and less harmful.
When shopping, bring your own produce bags and shopping bags -less plastic is always good. Use net or cloth bags. Dampen cloth bags to maintain freshness of leafy greens like kale and lettuce, cruciferous veggies like broccoli and romanesco as well as carrots, and celery in your crisper drawer.
Use natural decorations such as fresh flowers and gourds, acorns and pine needle bunches. Your materials could be as close as your backyard. Making decorations is a great way to involve the kids too.
Use real dishes and utensils. Plastic utensils, cups and coated paper plates end up in landfill or incinerators where they likely pose a threat to wildlife. Instead set your table with a beautiful tablecloth, ceramic or metal plates, cups, serving platters, metal utensils, Perhaps it’s time to bust out that set of silverware from your parents or grandparents you’ve been storing?
If you’re hosting a big gathering and don’t have enough plates, glasses, serving dishes, or cutlery, take a trip to your closest thrift shop, ReStore or Salvation Army to pick up more on the cheap (there’s often some real gems and some actual silverware mixed in with the cheaper stuff.) Serve your drinks in glass pitchers or bottles. If your family likes seltzer, consider investing in a machine to carbonate your own “bubbly water”. Tip: choose the model that comes with glass bottles over the plastic ones.Sticking to reusable tableware will not only reduce your waste but also save you money. Get your family or friends to help you wash anything delicate that can’t go in the dishwasher and toss all your cloth items in the washing machine afterwards. No muss, no fuss, and, more importantly, NO WASTE.
Opt for Cloth napkins - some local shops carry beautiful cloth options. Check out Kizuri and Kitchen Engine or get crafty and make your own from scrap fabric.
Leftovers in reusable containers If you are hosting: encourage guests to bring their own reusable containers for leftovers, or you can purchase some aluminum and paper ones ahead of time to give out. Going as a guest? Bring your own containers. If you’re feeling shy about expecting leftovers, leave them in your car or bag until the right time.
Thanksgiving Gratitude: You can use this holiday as an opportunity to explain why you are doing what you’re doing. Take a moment of gratitude for the gift of all that the planet gives us and how good it feels to be able to respect that and give back. Most people are interested in learning ways to reduce waste in their own lives. If nothing else you’ve planted a thought seed!
Nothing goes to Waste
You may have heard about the health benefits of bone broths. Look online for a bone broth recipe or create your own. Making your own bone broth requires very little hands-on time and is a cheaper alternative to expensive commercial bone broths. Not only is bone broth nutritious, it's an economical and easy way to use all of your holiday turkey. Scraps of vegetables such as celery, carrots, parsnips, and onions make a flavorful addition to any bone broth.
Compost organic waste: Chicken and turkey carcasses are accepted in the “green bins” in the City of Spokane. Since green bin materials are sent to a commercial composter the temperatures get high enough to process things that cannot be processed in a home composter, like bones. Composting is the ultimate form of recycling. Nutrients from organic waste are broken down by microbes and turned into a nutrient and microbe rich soil type substance which is then added to plants. Compost rich soils require less fertilizer, use less water, and insulate plant roots. When you compost food scraps instead of putting them in the trash, you are also preventing them from generating methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Methane is produced when organic waste is put in an anaerobic (no oxygen) environment such as a landfill. And if you’re thinking about our incinerator, the truth is wet food scraps slow down the burn producing negligible energy.
Worried about food waste sitting through the Winter? We’ve got two reasons not to fret: 1) In an effort to reduce organic waste heading to the WTE or landfill, the City of Spokane will now pick up green bins once a month in the Winter and 2) items in the green bins freeze during this time of year which means no rotting food smell. If temperatures aren’t quite low enough add newspaper and any yard waste on top of food waste until those temperatures drop.
Alternatives to gifting “things”
Give the gift of a memory
Spend the day with a loved one playing a game, watching a movie, looking through old photos, or another shared activity.
Complete a home project such as yard work, handy work, stringing holiday lights, cleaning the refrigerator and/or dryer vents for a loved one. These gifts will be especially appreciated by people who have mobility challenges or are elderly.
Put together a photo collage, album, scrapbook, or video. Thrift stores have a lot of nice frames
Make a donation or purchase a membership to an organization your loved one is passionate about
Give the gift of an experience:
Massage
Hot Air Balloon Ride
Trip to museum
Meal at a local restaurant or bakery
Food tasting tour or history tour
If you like to cook, consider helping someone prepare meals for a week.
Include a trip to the grocery store
Tip: You can still give a wrapped gift for someone to open under the tree by making a card that they need to unwrap (put it in a box)
You can also visit one of the many local artisan markets for your gift giving needs and support makers directly. Check out 33 Artists Market and Brrrzaar by Terrain Gallery to name a couple.
Alternatives to gift wrap
Wrapping paper and plastic tape can be easily substituted with:
Furoshiki traditional Japanese Fabric Wrapping - there’s loads of great fabric at thrift stores or find ready-made at Pottery Place Plus by Drye Goods or Art Salvage.
Vases, jars, mugs or baskets - thrift stores are full of these items
Newspaper
Innovation Challenge
Waste is a growing global crisis. We need solutions that mimic natural ecosystems where waste from one part of the system becomes a resource for another creating a circular flow of resources rather than the current linear model of take, make & dispose.
"Upcycling" is the process of creatively transforming waste materials into new products. Upcycling is different from "Recycling" in that it doesn't require breaking down the original material into a raw form.
Our innovation challenge asks you to design an upcycled product using old vinyl banners. The item you design should have a specific purpose, fulfill a need in a unique and creative way and be designed to be produced using standard commercial sewing practices and equipment.
The winning design will receive a $100 cash prize , generously provided by Downtown Spokane Partnership, and be considered for production by the ReCraftLab design team. Innovation Challenge deadline extended to 12/4
Regardless of your political beliefs, the end of the much hyped 2024 election cycle is likely bringing you a range of emotions; relief, angst, anger, joy, sadness and many feelings in between.
Environmental issues of all kinds are at the top of our minds here at Spokane Zero Waste. We expect to see a lot of challenges in this area with Trump at the helm. This does NOT mean we (or you) should give up on creating a better, cleaner environment for us, wildlife, and future generations. We must remember that struggles for a cleaner environment, justice, and a livable future are intertwined and the future remains unwritten.
Every tenth & hundredth of a degree of warming averted means lives saved, and every bit of waste not created is worth fighting for. It’s always been up to grassroots movements to make another world possible and to bring it into being.
If you’re seeking ways to channel your emotions into action, join us in the upcoming legislative session where we’ll build grassroots support for laws that limit plastic packaging, reduce organic waste, support sustainable business practices and more.
Save the Date, Dec 3 is Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday—a wonderful day of global charitable giving—is coming up on Tuesday, December 3. Please save the date as we would so appreciate Your early tax-deductible Giving Tuesday gift. to support our work in developing circular businesses that reduce waste, teaching youth and adults sewing skills and the value of quality textiles, training immigrant and refugee women in the art of upcycling so they can become valuable members of our community, developing community compost so all Spokanites have access to healthy soils and healthy foods, and working tirelessly to end plastic pollution.
And if you feel like snapping a photo of yourself for us to include in our Giving Tuesday campaign, we’d love that! You can email it back to info@spokanezerowaste.org
