THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511100064
SECTION: HOME & GARDEN PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Around the House
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO HOME & GARDEN
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
ON THURSDAY, NOV. 16, there will be 38 shopping days left until Christmas.
That makes many people nervous.
Especially those who are concerned about the environment. Visions of discarded wrapping paper, greeting cards and uneaten sugarplums dance in their heads. During the five weeks from Thanksgiving to New Year's, Americans generate 25 percent more trash than usual.
A group of individuals, corporations and organizations called Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP) will make Thursday, Nov. 16, a different type of holiday celebration. Designated ``The First ULS Day,'' the day will kick off a campaign to ``use less stuff'' throughout the upcoming holiday season.
Participating environmental groups have come up with a list of 38 ways to use less stuff for the 38 days till Christmas. Those groups include the Environmental Protection Agency and The ULS Report, a consumer newsletter begun in early 1994 in Ann Arbor, Mich., with the support of the members of PEP. The newsletter is devoted to delivering the use-less-stuff message.
Many of the 38 suggestions are based on source reduction, the technical term for using less, rather than recycling. With best wishes for a holiday that's not only merry and bright but also lean and light, here they are:
When you shop, bring your own bags.
Wrap gifts in comics, newspapers, maps, wallpaper or fabric scraps, the kids' artwork, whatever you have around the house.
Use leftover gift wrap to cover small boxes of homemade holiday goodies for gift-giving. Wallpaper scraps work well here too.
Break down gift boxes and store flat for use next year.
Get a tree that can be planted or mulched afterward. Or buy an artificial one.
Get light strands that will keep shining even if one bulb blows out.
And remember, the smaller the bulbs, the lower the wattage. Low-wattage bulbs consume less electricity and give off less heat.
Put lights on timers to save energy while you're away.
Use collected pine cones, dried flowers and other natural materials for wreaths and centerpieces.
Use clove-studded oranges for room fresheners or make your own potpourri.
If you send greeting cards, reduce your list. You needn't send to folks you see often.
Give used stamps to the Lions Club, which donates canceled stamps to collectors and charities.
Cut off the front of Christmas cards you receive; reuse as postcards or ornaments for next year.
Reduce unwanted catalogs by calling the toll-free number on the order form. To remove your name from many mailing lists, write to Mail Preference Service, c/o Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735.
Throw a home or office white-elephant party. Trade unwanted holiday gifts with friends.
Check bookstores and libraries for publications on making crafts from reusable items. Here are six ideas to get you started:
- Old clothes and jewelry make a great dress-up box for kids.
- Tools and gadgets can be used in an idea box for young inventors.
- Empty roll-on deodorant tubes can be refilled with paint to make an art kit.
- Old drapes, tablecloths and clothes can be recycled to make hair ornaments, doll clothes and accessories.
- Ironing-board covers can be reincarnated as potholders and hot pads decorated for the holidays.
- Empty, washed lipstick cases can be made into pill holders by painting and personalizing.
When a toy or other gift requires batteries, buy rechargeable ones.
Use brown paper grocery bags to wrap small boxes for mailing.
Reuse packing cartons and shipping materials such as bubble wrap, peanuts, shredded newspaper. Packaging accounts for 450 pounds of waste per person per year.
Drop off extra packing peanuts at local private mailing centers. For the names of local businesses that reuse them, call the Plastic Loosefill Council's Collection Program at (800) 828-2214.
While on an extended stay at a hotel, ask that your sheets and towels not be changed daily.
Use complimentary toiletries and other amenities provided by the hotel but don't take giveaways you won't use.
Don't overbuy for holiday meals. If every American throws away one bite of turkey with gravy, that equals 8.1 million pounds of wasted food, according to The ULS Report.
Send leftovers home with guests in plastic containers.
Add leftover fruits, vegetables and their peels, pits and seeds to the compost heap.
Buy food and beverage products in bulk and those that use less packaging.
Use bread bags and the like to store food.
Use plastic hotel shower caps to cover plates of leftovers.
Tie leftover mesh bags from onions and potatoes into a knot to make scouring pads.
Reuse long-necked wine bottles as containers for homemade herbal oil and vinegar.
To demonstrate that you're in the no-waste spirit, make sure Santa and the reindeers eat the cookies, milk and carrots the kids leave out for them.
Make a New Year's resolution to use less stuff every day throughout the coming year. by CNB