Here are some facts about the holiday season’s impact on our environment:
- As many as 30 million Christmas trees will be dumped in the landfill each year
- More than a billion Christmas cards are likely to be dumped or burnt – which, laid end to end, would stretch around the world five times.
- About 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper will also be thrown out or burnt – enough to gift-wrap the island of Jersey. You can also add to that 125,000 tons of plastic packaging – which, the Liberal Democrats helpfully point out, is the equivalent of more than a million John Prescotts.
- 150,000 tons of plastic packaging is thrown away
- Many will receive the newest phone, but only 10-15% are recycled
- Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s holiday period than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!
- Tons of wrapping paper and ribbon…
Make this a merry Christmas by being mindful of our environment. Send e-greetings, purchase gifts that can be recycled, recycle your trash, etc. Give a gift to the environment–be nice and nurture her.
Happy holidays from Rising Star Magazine!