Reduce Waste During the Holiday Season

Posted on October 30, 2017

Follow these tips from Zero Waste Marin and our partners to reduce food waste in Marin County during the holidays!

  • Practice Smart Shopping—Check your pantry to see what you already have before going grocery shopping for holiday meals.
  • Make a List—Make a grocery list and stick to it, especially when planning a large holiday event! Avoiding impulse buys will help save money.
  • Shop Local—Support local farmers by shopping at one of the many farmer’s markets in Marin.
  • Buy Only What You Need—To keep fresh items from spoiling, buy only enough for the week. If you are cooking for a crowd, only purchase items needed for that meal.
  • Prep Now, Enjoy Later—Consider prepping for your holiday events in advance to save time and avoid waste. Prep and freeze cookie dough, soup stock, excess meat, and sliced fruit and veggies in reusable containers to make them last longer.
  • Repurpose Holiday Leftovers—Leftover turkey? Don’t toss it out! Turn your holiday leftovers into sandwiches, casseroles, soups and more.
  • Don’t Let Good Food Go to Waste—Move food that is likely to spoil soon to a designated “eat now” area in the front of your pantry or fridge.
  • Store Food Correctly—Not all fresh fruits and vegetables belong in the fridge! Apples, berries, grapes and oranges should be refrigerated while bananas, mangos and potatoes belong in a cool place in your kitchen.
  • Compost the Rest—Use your green cart for your turkey carcass, veggie scraps, plate scrape, used paper plates and napkins. Please keep organic material out of the trash!

Zero Waste Marin works with cities and towns throughout Marin County to educate residents about reducing the amount of waste that goes into our local landfills.

Click HERE for a PDF copy of this newsletter.

Reduce Waste this Winter

Posted on October 2, 2017

Zero Waste Marin and our partners want to pass along a few tips to help Marin County residents reduce waste this holiday season.

Holiday Shopping

  • When out shopping for the perfect party favor or present, please support our locally owned businesses in Marin.
  • Carry your own reusable bags for holiday shopping, and avoid taking a paper bag for your purchases.
  • If you’re gifting electronic gadgets or toys, choose rechargeable batteries and consider including a battery charger with your gift as well.

Give an Experience

Consider giving friends and family members a gift that requires very little or no packaging:

  • Theater, movie or concert tickets
  • Membership to a museum
  • Gift card to a local store
  • Visit your favorite restaurant
  • A certificate for babysitting, gardening, or cleaning the house or car.

Alternative Gift Wrap

Single use wrapping paper creates a huge amount of waste each year. Instead of purchasing a new roll of wrapping paper and ribbon, shop your home for unique wrapping materials.

  • Gift bags or reusable shopping bags
  • Tins or baskets
  • Newspaper or magazine pages

Never Burn Wrapping Paper!

It is illegal to burn trash and wrapping paper. But did you know that wrapping paper is not recyclable because of the shiny, glossy glitter and foil? It must be thrown in the landfill bin.  This is especially true now that markets for recycled paper are becoming extremely strict about what they will accept. To help save resources, if you must use wrapping paper, try to save and reuse it next holiday season.

Click HERE for a PDF copy of this newsletter.