Planning for the Holidays
Often times the end-of-year festivities clutter our personal to-do lists, and that work to-do list can be even more crowded than usual for multifamily property managers. Whether it's Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or Christmas, there are things to do now to make it all go more smoothly. Here are some tips.
1. Have a plan for garbage, recycling, and holiday trees.
GARBAGE & RECYCLING SERVICE - Consider increasing service around the holidays. An extra garbage pick-up will cost extra, but it will prevent the headache of overflowing trash and staff cleanup time. Remind residents to flatten large boxes before placing in the recycle bin.
HOLIDAY TREE DISPOSAL -
A. Dedicate an area for residents to dispose of holiday trees,
B. Communicate the location and any key details (proper preparation, timeframe, etc.) to residents, and
C. Confirm a disposal plan. Contact your garbage and recycling company or coordinate with a scout troop or other organization. Again, this is an additional expense, but it ensures safe and prompt disposal.
2. Consider more sustainable food and gift options.
Americans tend to create more waste around the holidays - both food and stuff. Consider alternative options:
FOOD WASTE PREVENTION -
GIFTING -
- For the creatives among us, homemade gifts are a great option, as they lack unneccesary packaging and include added love and sentimentality.
- Consider making the giftwrap part of the gift (towel, wrap, scarf, kid drawing, etc.).
- Gift experiences - create memories that last a lifetime.
- Durable gifts (refillable containers, travel mugs, washable paper towels, dryer balls, etc.) that replace single-use options can be a gift that keeps on giving long past the holiday season.
3. Re-educate yourself and those around you about which holiday waste items can be recycled.
As much as we may try to minimize waste around the holidays, we'll likely still have items to dispose of in the garbage or recycling. To keep our recycling system strong, we must ensure only accepted items wind up in the recycling bins and garbage ends up in the trash. Some common holidays items that can and cannot be recycled include:
RECYCLE -
- Regular gift wrap and tissue paper
- Plain greeting cards and paper-printed photo cards
- Cardboard boxes (flatten first)
GARBAGE -
- Metallic or glittery gift wrap and tissue paper
- Singing greeting cards, cards with glitter, and photo paper cards
- Bows and ribbons (can often be reused multiple times before discarding)
- Fromed plastic packaging (essentially any plastic that is not a bottle, jug, or round plastic container at least 6 oz.)
- Bubble wrap and plastic padded shipping envelopes (can be returned if clean, dry, and free of stickers/labels to participating retailers like Safeway, Albertsons, and Fred Meyer - look for a collection bin near the entrance)
- Styrofoam™ (contact Metro's Recycling Information Center at 503.234.3000 for fee-to-recycle drop-off locations)
