Winter Time Waste

  Merry Trashmas! The holiday season is underway, but this time of year welcomes an increase in trash production across the globe. Stanford University reports that from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, trash production increases by 25% — 1 million extra tons per week.

  Christmas is responsible for multiple sources of waste. Along with the use of enough ribbon to tie a bow around the world, one of the greatest culprits is single-use wrapping paper. Junior Cynthia Zacarias says, “My family recycles our wrapping paper on Christmas.” Though many are not aware, it is crucial to know that most Christmas paper is not recyclable due to its cheap material and artificial coloring.

  Another common form of waste at this time of year comes from a popular tradition — sending Christmas cards. In an article titled, “A Few Fun Facts About Christmas Cards,” the author touches on the outrageous number of cards sent per year. Impressively enough, the numbers have encroached to “over 2 billion.” Some SVHS teachers, such as Mrs. Clark, have stepped up and started recycling their Christmas cards by reusing the festive card images as gift tags.

  An alternative form of sending season’s greetings is electronic cards, but compared to the vast amount of paper cards, only “around 500 million e-cards are sent each year.” E-cards help our environment and human footprint.

 

Sophomore Sophia Riebli comments, “Though I prefer sending physical cards, I would be open to sending an e-card.”

  SVHS students, as tech savvy as they are, should consider sending more environmentally friendly greetings. They can also use one of their last childhood Christmas mornings at home to inform their family of the ‘paper’ not meant for the recycling.