Did you know that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American households send an additional 1 million tons of trash per week to our landfills over the holiday season?
Now that Christmas has past, many of us are now faced with piles of stuff and unneeded items around our houses. While some of these things may need to go to the landfill, much of our holiday and household waste can be diverted from the landfill. Even though you may throw something away, there is no “away.” All these items end up in our local landfill. So do your part this holiday season and use these three tips to send your waste to a better place (more information can be found here: /www.blog.epa.gov/2016/12/21/creative-ways-to-cut-your-holiday-waste/).
Three tips for what you can do:
Reduce: Instead of throwing away old clothes, toys and other perfectly usable household items, donate them and give your items a new life.
Reuse: Save boxes, bags, ribbons, bows and decor items like ornaments so you can use them again next holiday season.
Recycle: Properly dispose of all your holiday waste. If you are unsure of where an item should go, download the Eagle County Waste Wizard app for free or utilize the Wizard’s online search engine at http://www.walkingmountains.org/recycling-waste-reduction/. Be on the lookout for announcements from you local municipality about christmas tree collections. The Town of Avon is also hosting a post-holiday recycling event for hard-to-recycle items on Saturday in the parking lot of the old town hall building. Bring your electronics, light bulbs, batteries, christmas lights, styrofoam and textiles to ensure that these hard-to-recycle items go to the right place.