Joy to the world because Christmas is near. Reindeer and manager scenes litter the yards, Christmas stockings hanging from the fireplace, and who can forget the red, green, and white Christmas lights that cover the house. No doubt the electric bill will be sky high, not to mention all the energy and resources wasted during the holiday season. Some might say that Christmas is bad for the environment. That could be true if people don’t realize the repercussions of their festivities!

According to the National Geographic News, Robert Lilienfield states, “Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s day, Americans throw away a million extra tons [900,000 metric tons] of garbage each week, including holiday wrapping and packaging.” Lilienfied is co-author of the book Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are. With the amount of money wasted on gift paper you could buy extra gifts.

Being eco-friendly is about reducing, saving, and recycling. Christmas time is no different. As a matter of fact, this time can be used to share and use the eco-friendly tips we come across all year. Many people are unaware of simple and everyday ways of incorporating green living. So in the midst of tis the season to be jolly, here are a few tips to an eco-friendly Christmas:

• Use LED lights – Use 90 percent less energy, meaning they are energy efficient and approved by Energy Star. According to HolidayLEDs.com, “Energy Star qualified products and practices help you save money and reduce greenhouse emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE. The ENERGY STAR label also designates superior energy performance in homes and buildings.” According to one U.S. Department of Energy study, if everyone replaced their conventional holiday light strings with LEDs, at least TWO BILLION(!) kilowatt-hours of electricity could be saved in a month.
• Refrain from using paper plates and plastic cups and silverware – Spread the chores by asking people to help with the dishes. Imagine all the paper and plastic that can be saved during this time alone!
• Recycle — Get out last years bags that someone gave you and reuse them. Instead of fully wrapping a gift use a little ribbon to tie around the present…REDUCE!
• Recycle – Get those creative juices flowing and combine different wrapping paper scrapes that are left lying around.
• Conserve — Unplug lights during the day. Lights that are cut off but still plugged in is still considered waste energy.

(Image source: stanzapub.com)