Reducing Waste During the Holidays: Tips from Riverside Speedy Plumbing and Rooter

What’s the best way to celebrate this season of giving? Here at Riverside Speedy Plumbing and Rooter in Riverside, CA we believe one of the best ways to celebrate is with a truly green, eco-friendly holiday. Recycling, eliminating food waste, and saving energy can make all the difference for future generations - and that’s the ultimate cause to celebrate.

Start with a commitment to recycle: wrapping paper, gift cards, and holiday cards can be easily set aside for the recycling bin, or saved for reuse. Sending electronic holiday cards can eliminate paper waste all together. And when it comes to wrapping paper choices, newspaper or eco-friendly reusable wrapping ,like scarves or carry-alls are great choices for your gifts. Forget using  ribbons and bows  - you can choose natural decorations like evergreens or dried flowers which can be easily recycled or composted later. The same goes for a live tree and wreath for decoration, be sure to recycle them when the holiday season is over. Or buy a live, potted tree and replant it after the holidays. One last recycling tip: when you go shopping, eliminate paper and plastic bags and choose reusable cloth instead.

When it comes to gift giving, choose something that doesn’t pollute. Think about charitable donations or choose an experience to share like a meal, travel, concert or sports tickets. Homemade gifts are great too, and when buying products, look at the item’s recycle potential, and if recycled materials are included in manufacture.

More batteries are sold around the holidays than any other time of year. So choose rechargeable! Rechargeable batteries reduce waste material, save money, and can even be operated on solar power. Save energy by unplugging holiday lights during the day, which will reduce cost and energy consumption as well as helping those lights last longer, too.

And then there’s food waste. Choosing reasonable rather than overly large amounts of treats mean healthier diets and better health for the planet. Leftovers can be distributed to charitable organizations or sent home with friends and family. And, be sure to dispose of used cooking oil carefully. It clogs drains, can harden in pipes and can cause sewage line back-ups and wastewater issues far beyond your home - in  an entire community. So instead, save oils in a container and dispose of it in the trash or, if there’s an oil recycling program in your community, check it out.

Wishing everyone an abundantly green holiday season!