The holiday season is filled with many activities, such as cooking, shopping, and exchanging gifts. This means there will be plenty of wrapping papers, gift bags, and food waste to throw in the trash during this season.
To promote a safe environment, you should consider different ways to recycle and reuse your items and reduce waste consumption as much as possible during this holiday period.
Fast Act Junk Removal, a junk removal service in Niles, Michigan, shares the importance of recycling and simple tips to recycle and reduce waste this holiday season.
Why is Recycling Important?
From preserving energy to conserving natural resources and energy, there are many economic, social, and environmental reasons why recycling is essential for the environment. Some of these benefits include:
1. Conserving Natural Resources
Recycling your resources and household items can help conserve natural resources and prevent them from extinction. Recycling items like paper, bottle, and plastic help reduce the need for resources like trees, sand, and metal.
2. Preventing Ecosystem Destruction
The process of extracting resources from the environment can cause destruction to the sea, land, and forest. Through recycling, we can reduce disruption to the natural environment and preserve the ecosystem.
3. Reducing Gas Emission
Recycling helps to reduce carbon emissions in the environment, keeping the environment safe.
4. Reducing the Amount of Waste in Landfill
When we dump waste in landfill, they release toxins and dangerous gas into the environment. Recycling and reusing can reduce the amount of waste in landfills and save the environment.
5. Saves Energy
The process of extracting raw materials from their natural habitat and converting and processing them into products consumes energy. We can preserve this energy through recycling, as producing from recycled material consumes less energy than producing from natural resources.
6. Job Creation
Recycling involves many processes like collecting, sorting, driving and reprocessing. These processes are handled by people, and the more items you recycle, the more jobs will be created.
Tips For Recycling During the Holidays
Choosing to preserve the environment through healthy waste consumption doesn’t mean that you have to stop doing the things you love or that you should have a dull Christmas. Following the guide below, you can have a fun-filled holiday with cards and gifts while keeping the environment safe.
1. Use Eco-friendly Gift Wraps
Gift wraps are the most common items during the holiday because what is a Christmas without wrapped gifts?
However, most gift wraps, especially glittery ones, are made from foil and aluminum, making them unrecyclable.
There are many eco-friendly alternatives to gift wraps, but if you insist on using one, consider getting gift wraps that are made from recycled items or can be recycled. For example, plain, unprinted brown papers are recyclable and compostable, and they make elegant gift wraps.
2. Consider Gift Wrap Alternative
As stated earlier, there are safer, eco-friendly alternative ways to wrap or present your gift without causing a disadvantage to the environment.
For example, you can copy the Japanese Furoshiki culture and wrap your gifts in multi-functional clothes or gorgeous scarves.
You can also consider presenting your gifts in reusable gift bags. If you are using gift bags, check to see if you have any stored gift bags that you can use. This will help you save money and also help to prevent repeated purchases.
You can also place your gifts in small multifunctional baskets for a more creative style.
3. Switch Holiday Cards for Eco-Friendly Options
A lot of Americans love receiving and giving holiday cards, and no, we don’t blame you. However, like gift wraps, most holiday cards are not recyclable or reusable and end up in landfills.
For safer alternatives, consider sending your holiday wishes to your family and friends through E-mail or E-cards.
If you have enough time, you can design your card using recyclable materials like paper. If you insist on buying holiday cards, avoid the ones with glitters, foil, or embellishments.
4. Use Safer Alternatives for Gift Tags
It is common knowledge that gifts are incomplete without gift tags. But do you know that most gift tags are made from polyester and nylon, which are not recyclable?
Consider switching gift tags for safer options like raffia ribbon, hemp twine, and pine cones if you are giving out gifts. You can also use items you already have, like an old holiday card, as a gift tag.
If you receive gifts with gift tags, you can save them and reuse them on the gifts that you wrap.
5. Reduce Food Waste
Food waste is usually common during the holidays, especially on Thanksgiving. It might not be totally avoidable, but if you plan your meal carefully, you can reduce food waste in your home during the holidays.
Plan the number of people you are hosting and ensure you don’t make excess. Also, source your bird and vegetables from local farmers and consider donating excess food to avoid wastage.
6. Gift Experience Instead of physical Gifts
Instead of gifting physical objects, consider sharing experiences and creating memories with your family and friends. There are several gift alternatives you can explore that don’t involve consuming physical items.
You can get them tickets to a show, donate to a charity they care about, go camping or skiing, pay for any of their online subscriptions, or consider homemade gifts, for example, baking cookies.
7. Avoid Plastic Bags When Possible
Most purchased items, both online and offline, come in plastic bags and bubble waps that end up in landfills. When doing your holiday shopping, consider replacing plastic bags with reusable shopping bags, where possible.
If you have to use plastic bags, consider saving them and reusing them or sending them to recycling centers that accept them.
8. Christmas Lights
When purchasing new Christmas lights, choose LED lights as they consume less energy. Also, ensure to use your Christmas light for as long as they are still working.
To save energy, only put on your Christmas light when people are around to enjoy it.
When the light stops working, avoid tossing it into the trash. Instead, find a recycling company that accepts holiday lights and send them there.
9. Give Out Items You No Longer Need
Holidays are the perfect time to declutter your home and give out items you no longer need. Instead of throwing items like clothes, toys, shoes, and other household items away, you can package them and send them to charity centers and churches where they can give them to people who need them.
10. Choose a Real Christmas Tree Over a Fake One
Artificial trees take a lot of natural resources to create, as they are made from plastic and metal materials. They also emit a heavy amount of carbon footprint compared to real trees.
On the other hand, real trees are safer for the environment because they consume carbon (as against emitting) and require fewer resources than artificial trees.
Hence, for a safer environment, consider renting or buying a real Christmas tree instead of an artificial one.
If, for some reason, you don’t want to get real trees, you can go for creative non-tree options, like arranging books to form a tree shape or carving a wooden tree.
What are the Items That You Can Recycle?
In case you skipped the list above, here is a list of items that you recycle in your home this holiday period:
- Gift Wrap
- Gift bags
- Holiday card
- Christmas lights and other electronic items
- Food and organic items
- Shipping materials and plastic bags
- Batteries
- Bottles and plastic containers
How to Recycle Some of Your Holiday Items
1. Food Waste
plastic containers for food, metal cans for soups and vegetables, and plastic containers for drinks are all recyclable.
After you empty the content, wash the container with water to ensure it’s clean before tossing it in the trash can or recycle bin.
2. Cardboard and Boxes
Boxes made with paper, without any addition like foil or metals, are recyclable.
If the cardboard box contains attachments like plastic or removable metals, remove them before tossing the box in the bin.
Remove all items from the cardboard box and flatten them out to create space in the recycle bin.
3. Lights and Electronic Waste
Reuse your electronic items for as long as possible to reduce waste. But if they are no longer useful and you need to dispose of them, it is best to do so safely, especially for items that contain batteries.
You can find charity programs that use these items. You can also find recycling centers that accept electronic items and mail your electronic waste to them.
4. Generally
When disposing of your recyclables, don’t box or bundle them. When you bundle your recyclable items in a box or a bag, the bag might destroy them during sorting, or the recyclers might reject them and end up in a landfill.
Instead, dispose of our recyclable items individually since the recycler will sort them item by item. Also, invest in reusable items and use them as much as possible before recycling them.
How Can Junk Removal Services Help With Your Recycling This Holiday Period?
Aside from cooking and hosting guests, other popular activities during the holiday are cleaning and decluttering the home. When preparing for the new year, most people like to take advantage of the holidays to clear out their space, remove old and unused items, and give room for new things in the new year.
Disposing of your junk after a home clean-out can be overwhelming, especially if you are determined to do it the green way. The thought of sorting, arranging, and sending your items to recycling centers or charity homes can overwhelm and discourage you.
The good news, however, is that you don’t have to do it alone. By using a reliable junk removal service, you can efficiently declutter your home and dispose of your items safely without going through stress.
What is Junk Removal and What Do They Do?
Junk removal services make your decluttering and junk disposal project easy and safe for the environment.
At a fee, a junk removal service will send a team of junk haulers to your house with their dumpster, and they will remove all the junks and old items you wish to dispose of and haul them away.
They will sort through these items, separate them into different categories and dispose of them through the right channel.
What items can Junk Removal Accept?
Junk removal items accept a wide variety of items, including bulky items like refrigerators. Other items you can dispose of through junk removal services include
1. Furniture
Carrying heavy furniture items like cabinets, dressers, and couches and disposing of them on your own can be time and energy-consuming. Save yourself the stress and spend your free time wisely by hiring junk removal services for your furniture removal.
2. Bed and Sofa
Junk removal services can help remove your old bed, sofa, and mattresses and safely recycle or donate them, depending on their condition.
3. Dishwasher and Washing Machine
Recycling your dishwasher and washing machine can be intimidating because of the lifting involved. Junk removal services can help you dispose of your items without lifting a finger.
4. Air Conditioner
Removing your old air conditioner by yourself can be dangerous as you might damage the unit or even hurt yourself in the process. Protect your items and save yourself from danger by using a safe and experienced junk removal service.
5. Electronic Appliances
Junk removal services can help to safely dispose of your electronic waste, like television, computers, video games, and refrigerators.
6. Other Items
Junk removal services can safely remove and dispose of items such as gym equipment, stoves, garage items, and den junk.
What Items Will Junk Removal Not Accept?
Due to their nature, some items are not meant for trash cans or recycling bins, and most junk removal services will not accept them. These items include:
- Petrol
- Oil
- Open paint
- Herbicides and pesticides
- Bleach and cleaning agents
- Car fluids
- Items in dangerous areas
4 Key Benefits of Using Junk Removal Services
1. Saves Time
Using a junk hauling service will help you complete your decluttering process faster and will make the process less stressful and more encouraging.
2. They recycle Your Items
By using a junk removal service, you can save yourself from the stress of packing and sending your items to recycling centers. Most junk removal services work with recycling services where they can send your recyclable items, saving you from stress and keeping the environment safe at the same time.
3. They Donate Your Items
Junk removal services will sort through your junk and donate the valuable items to charity and churches that need them on your behalf, saving you from the stress of going from one center to another to donate your items yourself.
4. It Reduces the Effect of Harmful Substances in the Environment
With junk removal services handling your junk disposal, you can be confident that your items will be disposed of in the safest way possible to reduce the release of harmful substances into the environment.
They will safely dispose of your electrical items, such as television, refrigerators, and computers, through the right channels. Plastic items like toys too will be disposed of safely to prevent the release of dangerous chemicals.
Fast and Reliable Junk Removal Service in Niles, Michigan
Fast Act Junk Removal and Dumpster Service is a Junk Removal and Dumpster Rental Service in Niles, Michigan. They provide full-service junk removal and dumpster rental services in Niles, New Troy, Hartford, St. Joseph, and other areas in Michigan.
Their experts deal with various aspects of junk removal, like garage clearing, estate cleanout, commercial junk removal, and construction junk removal.
Fast Act Junk Removal and Dumpster Rental Services
1. Home Debris Removal
Whether you are moving houses or just clearing out your space, you can rely on Fast Act Junk Removal Services for a fast, safe, reliable home junk removal service. Their agents will remove all the items you want to dispose of, including bathtubs, kitchen cabinets, and refrigerators, and you don’t even have to lift a finger.
2. Construction Junk Removal
Most construction and remodeling jobs involve one form of junk removal or the other. As a construction manager, you shouldn’t worry about clearing out the site junk when you have more critical issues. Allow Fast Act Junk Removal Services to handle your construction site junk removal to make your project smoother and faster.
3. Dumpster Rental
If you decide to remove your junk by yourself for one reason or another, you will need a dumpster, and Fast Act Junk Removal and Dumpster Rental Service has the best dumpster for your project. They have all sizes of dumpsters that are neat, affordable, and suitable for all residential and commercial projects.
To make an inquiry about their services, contact Fast Act Junk Removal and Dumpster Rental Service at 269-808-1170 or visit their website.
