Experts hope to cut festive season waste
The typical Kiwi summer barbecue, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve bash can leave bins overflowing.
But the Zero Waste Network says there are ways to plan ahead to make sure you’re not sending more than needed to the landfill.
Don’t even buy wrapping paper, use something else, chairman Marty Hoffart said. ‘‘Do not buy products with excess packaging if you can get away with it. Use something else, something you already have to wrap up gifts.’’
With the days of single-use plastic bags numbered, paper bags and packaging were useful for wrapping gifts, Hoffart said.
Some wrapping paper was actually plastic and could not be recycled and whatever was left over could be salvaged for the next year.
‘‘Start putting small boxes aside that can be used to repackage a gift that you are giving away.’’
Ultimately, people could be buying less during the holiday season, he said.
‘‘Less consumption means less waste. Before you buy something, think about where it came from and how much waste will be left after you’ve given it away. How long will it last and is it covered in packaging that will end up in a landfill?’’
A New Year’s resolution could be to buy that worm farm or compost bin, he said. ‘‘Around 50 per cent of all the waste we send to landfills from households is food and other organic waste.
‘‘It is also the most harmful waste we bury because food and organic waste turns into methane gas when buried in landfills.’’
Or maybe, this would be the year to decide to stop eating meat, or eat less of it, he said.
‘‘Many environmentalists say the single biggest step we can take to a healthier environment is to eat less meat or stop eating meat and become a vegetarian.’’