10 Ways to Green Your Holidays
written by TEC CEO Jeffrey Barrie -- modified from a column published in Main Street Nashville on November 18, 2021
Admittedly, I’ve been occasionally tuning into Christmas music since the first day of fall. Indeed, I love celebrating the holidays: giving thanks, giving gifts, receiving gifts, and celebrating all the reasons for the season.
All joy aside (for a moment), our traditions of generosity and celebration during the “most wonderful time of the year” come with some heavy ecological consequences. Significant increases in food consumption, food waste, gift wrapping, product packaging, and traveling to visit loved ones, all take their toll on our natural resources. Americans generate 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than the rest of the year, to the tune of one million tons per week.
The following Ten Ways to Green Your Holidays will enhance your joy this season, knowing you are making a positive difference as you celebrate.
FIRST: Compost your food scraps. We all eat more during the holidays, right? This means we generate more food scraps, which can be a gift to our soils if we compost instead of throwing them away. Register for TEC’s “Come Post Your Compost” program for the full story.
SECOND: Gift a kitchen compost container or outdoor compost bin to a loved one. Check out some great options on TEC’s free “Compost Guide.” (see page 6)
THIRD: Gift a tree! Here’s how it works: visit tectn.org/give to get started. You select a tree to dedicate to a loved one, make a donation, and in return you’ll receive a certificate to present as a gift. TEC volunteers will plant your tree(s) in Tennessee in 2022. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, for generations to come.
FOURTH: Solarize your holiday lights. I’m trying this one for the first time this year -- using a couple small solar panels connected to a 12-volt battery for an off-grid system that keeps my lights on, guilt-free. There are some great solar-powered holiday light options on Amazon, or just google “solar Christmas lights.”
FIFTH: If you’re not ready to spring for the solar panels, you can make your holiday glimmer more energy-efficient using LED lights, which come in infinite color-variations and styles, but use 95% less energy. The cost savings on your power bill will be a gift to you. They’re available at most retail stores that carry holiday decor.
SIXTH: Recycle right. If you don’t already recycle, now is a great time to get started -- instead of increasing your trash by 25%, you could reduce it by that, or more. Visit TEC’s Recycle Tennessee program pages for great info and tips.
SEVENTH: Gift-cards to Tennessee’s newest refill retail stores -- Sage Refill Market , or The Good Fill . All stores sell online, so you can shop from anywhere, and they ship anywhere. If you live in Nashville, be sure to visit their stores, which are filled with eco-friendly, zero-waste gift ideas. Purchase wrapping paper that can be recycled. Most conventional wrapping papers and bows include plastics, foils and other materials to make them sparkle with extra shine, but they also render them non-recyclable.
EIGHTH: Green Llama Cleaning! A husband and wife team from Johnson City has developed a zero-waste, eco-friendly cleaning product that will get your home shining bright in time for your holiday guests. Get a cleaning kit for yourself, and gift one to a loved one.
NINTH: Gift a one-year subscription to curbside glass recycling, compost pickup or recycling services through one of Tennessee’s finest small businesses. Here are your options:
- Nashville: Just Glass (use the coupon code TEC.GLASS for your first month free) | Compost Nashville | RegenR8 Composting (Brentwood, Franklin, Thompson Station)
- Memphis: Compost Fairy
- Chattanooga: NewTerra
- Johnson City/Jonesboro: Hoffman Composting
- Numerous Communities: Recyclops (Bartlett, Christiana, Clarksville, Cookeville, Kingsport, Lascassas, La Vergne, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Putnam County, Rockvale, Smyrna)
TENTH: Pray for healing for our planet and all its inhabitants. Peace on earth, goodwill to humankind! If you want more information on any of these suggestions, feel free to email me at [email protected].
Happy Holidays, y’all! Stay green.
Your Environmental CEO, Jeffrey