Making The Holidays More Eco-Friendly
The holidays bring families and friends together to share meals and exchange gifts. They are also a
great time to encourage even wider adoption of recycling habits.
“The holidays are a very paper intense season, so we wanted to capture and grow their interest with
practical and fun ways to make the holidays more earth friendly,” said Mary Anne Hansan, president,
Paper and Packaging Board (P+PB). “Since paper and paper packaging can be recycled up to seven
times and are sourced from trees—a renewable resource, the abundance of paper during the holidays
makes it a great time to build better recycling habits for families.”
P+PB has a guide to make it even easier: “Celebrate the Holidays Sustainably with Paper.” The guide
includes a list of tips with easy, practical ways to recycle and reuse paper and paper-based products to
make the holidays even more sustainable. In addition, here are tips for celebrating the holidays
sustainably:
Turn a shipping box from online delivery orders into holiday recycling bins. Place them strategically
around the house to encourage easy recycling.
Empty and flatten cardboard gift and shipping boxes before recycling. No need to remove tape or
shipping labels.
Send guests home with paper containers for the holidays. Paper to-go containers (and other
products like paper baking pans and paper cake molds) are all made from a renewable source.
Turn cardboard boxes into game boards, a kid’s fort, and more. Shipping appliance boxes can be a
better present than the gifts that come inside when you turn them into hideaways or racing cars.
Cushion gifts and ornaments that are fragile or being shipped by using festive paper-based filler
options like recyclable tissue paper, crinkle paper, or kraft paper.
Choose the perfect card. Avoid ones with glitter or made from photo paper; otherwise, paper cards
and envelopes are recyclable.
Wrap gifts with earth-friendly style. Brown kraft paper or wrapping paper without glitter or foils is
recyclable.
The good news is that a majority (66%) of U.S. adult consumers believe that recycling paper is worth it
and 60% feel that recycling is easy, according to recent P+PB research. Even though recycling is more
accepted, consumers still need help remembering best practices and reminders about what can and
cannot be recycled. Beyond the holidays, understanding which paper items are typically accepted for
recycling can transform the seasonal recycling spirit into a year-round habit.
Recyclable items include:
Notebooks, catalogs, and phone books
Receipts (unless they have thermal coatings)
Mail, envelopes (even those with windows), and coupons
White and colored paper, printer paper, file folders, and stationery
Boxes like pizza boxes and ones for cereal, shoes, laundry detergent, and medicine
Juice, egg, and milk cartons
Magazines (no need to remove staples)
Consumers should check local guidelines to confirm as they can vary by location and are frequently updated.
