♻ A Guide To Zero Waste Gift Wrapping 🎄#GreenMonday

‘Tis the season for spending time with family and exchanging of gifts

Each year, my clients asked me questions about recycling gift wrap. While glossy wrapping paper is sparkly, shiny, and can set the holiday mood for everyone, the bad news is gift wrap isn’t recyclable.

This waste adds to an estimated total of 25 million tons of extra trash across the nation during the holidays. Starting with Thanksgiving and ending after New Year’s Day.

The challenge with gift wrapping paper is that it simply isn’t all paper.

Glitter, foil, and cellophane made of plastic or metallic materials, and it’s impossible to separate them for recycling. Other wrapping papers have a heavy wax coating for that shiny glossy appearance. When mixed with different types of recyclable documents like newspapers, the wax becomes a contaminate that is difficult to remove and reduces the quality of the recycled paper fiber.

I will like to share a few tips to reduce wrapping paper waste during the holiday season:

1 - Consider reusing wrapping paper and gift bags. Do this can saves natural resources and can further save money when the holidays come around next year. 

2 - Gift givers should also try to reuse cellophane wrapping paper, shiny bows, and ribbons because they can’t be recycled either.

3- If you haven’t bought wrapping paper yet, consider more sustainable alternatives that are reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable. 

4 - Try wrapping gifts in brown craft paper, which is recyclable, then add a pinecone or sprig from the Christmas tree to give gift wrap some rustic flair while being eco-friendly. 

5- For the kids, wrap gifts in the comic section of the newspaper. As they eagerly wait to open their gifts, they can read their favorite comic strips. 

6 - Other useful recyclable items to use are cardboard and paper boxes. Plain uncoated wrapping paper and paper gift bags. Holiday cards, and envelopes that don’t have embellishments, like glitter and glued-on decorations. As with most sustainability efforts, this is best to use what you already have. Many crafters suggest using cloth or scarves to wrap any awkwardly shaped gifts. 

7 - Reusing containers, like glass jars or tin boxes, can also serve as sturdy packaging without requiring you to buy more.

Gift wrap isn’t the only additional waste produced during the holidays. Other festive items that can’t be recycled include bubble wrap, foam packaging, cellophane, plastic bags, holiday lights, tinsel, ribbons, laminated or coated gift bags, bows, artificial Christmas trees, batteries, food packaging and waste, clothing, shoes, plastic toys, and electronics.