Dreaming of a "Green" Christmas
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Columbus, OH - Ohioans can have a "greener" holiday season, with a few easy changes that not only cut back on waste and litter, but keep more "green" in your wallet, too. Jed Thorp, spokesman for the Ohio Sierra Club, says there are a lot of ways to protect our natural resources this time of year, starting with those decorative lights. He suggests replacing the old-style light strands with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs.
"One of the easiest things people can do is to buy energy-efficient LED holiday lights. That can shave as much as $50 from a monthly electric bill."
Thorp adds that big mound of wrapping paper can be bad news on Christmas morning, as most commercial gift wrap isn't recyclable. He suggests reusable gift bags, or getting creative with your giftwrap. Maps, sheet music and homemade papers are just a few of the options.
"You can wrap kids' Christmas gifts in the comic section of the newspaper, and get your children to make their own personalized wrapping paper for Christmas gifts for parents and grandparents."
Thorp says your tree can make a big difference, too; he recommends shopping around for a pesticide-free Christmas tree. Then, when the season's done, find out if there's a local tree pick-up program, so the tree ends up as mulch instead of in a landfill.
Additional tips for a "greener" holiday season can be found online, at www.sierraclub.org/Christmas.
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