The Catalyst: Have Yourself a Jolly Green Holiday

With winter celebrations already underway and more yet to come, we wanted

By: Joelle Ciriacy

With winter celebrations already underway and more yet to come, we wanted to share our favorite tips for spreading cheer with sustainability in mind:

Create holiday décor with upcycled items: Start a new tradition of a holiday craft night to create décor items with upcycled items. Our favorite idea this year is using old clothes and fabric scraps to create simple embroidered ornaments that are stuffed with excess thread ends or strips of scrap fabric, but check online for endless ideas.
Gift consumable gifts: Our favorites are compounded butter made with fresh garden or farmer’s market herbs, frozen vacuum packed cookie dough, seasonable fruit boxes, and cheese boards.
Donate to charities: If your loved one has everything they want and need, consider donating in their name to a charity that aligns with their passions and interests.
Gift experiences: Rather than purchasing items, consider gifting experiences like concert or sports tickets, or offering an evening of free childcare and a gift certificate to a local restaurant for the parents in your life.
Support local businesses: Whether you are preparing a holiday meal or searching for this year’s holiday cards, try to support small businesses in your community. Some fun examples include shopping at your local farmer’s market and purchasing cards from local artists.
Plan meals consciously to avoid food waste: An estimated 316 million pounds of food were wasted across the U.S. over Thanksgiving. Put a little thought into planning for your holiday meals and leftovers to avoid wasting your holiday goodies by using The Guest-Imator to estimate how much food to buy for your dinner parties. Consider having guests bring their own containers to take home leftovers.

Tennessee State Parks is continuing its tradition of First Day Hikes across the state on New Years Day. Join a ranger for free guided hikes to experience historical landmarks, majestic rivers and waterfalls, indigenous plants and animals, or starry expanses. This Tennessee tradition is united with efforts across the U.S. as part of a nationwide initiative led by America’s State Parks.

According to the EPA, Americans generate 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. A large portion of additional waste generated can be associated with gift wrap and packaging materials from gifts.

Unfortunately, most wrapping you see in the stores are not recyclable but there are alternatives. Reusable gift bags make an economical swap for wrapping paper. Another common alternative to traditional wrapping paper is reusing newspaper; decorating the package with scrap colored paper or drawings can add a personal and festive touch. If you must use wrapping paper, several companies like Superior Giftwrap, Green Field Paper Company, and Wrappily make wrapping from recycled paper that can also be recycled after use.

Another way to reduce waste is to shop for products that use recyclable packaging or reduced packaging material. One company, Green Toys, makes toys out of recycled plastic and only uses packaging material that can be easily recycled. Another eco-friendly company is eartheasy. Eartheasy plants a tree for every order placed and develops products with a focus on the impact they may have on the environment.
Next time you’re shopping for a gift, take a second to think about the impact your gift may have on the environment and what alternatives could reduce waste.

A message from Ginna McWhirter, Small Business Education and Outreach Specialist:

At the end of August, I joined the Small Business Environmental Assistance Program (SBEAP) as the education and outreach specialist. While the program may seem niche, there are countless avenues through which we can offer help. From drycleaners to paint shops, we are here to answer all your compliance, regulatory, and permit questions.

As we continue to spread the word about this wonderful program, I created a video to provide a quick reference on what the program is and how it can help your small business. Please visit our YouTube channel to watch the video.

For assistance, you can call the SBEAP hotline at 800-734-3619 or send us an email at BGSBEAP@tn.gov. Our website also offers many extensive resources. You can visit it by following the link to www.tn.gov/environment/sbeap. To stay up to date with the SBEAP, sign up for our quarterly newsletter. We’ll see you out and about!

Recipe of the Month

If you will be serving rolls this holiday season, there is a chance you might end up with some stale bread on your hands. If so, tear them up into bite-sized pieces and toss them into a reusable bag in your freezer. When you're ready to add a little crunch to a salad or soup, spread the frozen bread onto a pan and make homemade croutons. Throughout the year you can rescue discounted bread in your grocery store's "last chance" section for the same use.