10 Ways to Green the Holidays

1) Junk the junk mail. Stop mail-order catalogues at CatalogueChoice.org or eliminate all junk mail at newdream.org/junkmail/optout.php or 41pounds.org

2) Share Your Heart’s Desire: Dreaming of less waste in the world? Then share your wish list for yourself or your children with the people in your lives. Create an alternative gift registry at alternativegiftregistry.org

3) Shop Local: Shop at local merchants (listed on ibuyaustin.com) and craft fairs including Blue Genie Arts Bazaar (Dec. 1-24), Wheatsville Arts Festival (Dec. 4-5), and the Cherrywood Art Fair (Dec. 11-12). New ways to shop locally online include:

• www.WaterlooRecords.com for digital music or gift certificates to our local Waterloo Records digital music store. (It works like iTunes.)

• www.Etsy.com is an online marketplace for independent artists/craftspeople. Just type TeamEtsyAustin in the search field to “localize” your search for everything from jewelry and fabric gift bags to housewares and “geekery.”

4) Save energy with holiday lights. Put a timer on your holiday lights or at least turn them off during the day or when you’re not at home. If you’re in the market for holiday lights, it’s never been easier to find Light-Emitting-Diode (LED) lights, which use 70% less energy and last 10 to 20 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

5) Green your packaging. Wrap gifts in used gift bags, thrift-store scarves, the comics, kids’ artwork or re-usable fabric bags. Gift wrap is recyclable, unless it's laminated, metallic, or has a bunch of tape stuck to it. As for packaging remember, both the City’s blue single stream recycling cans and downtown-based Ecology Action accept cardboard, paperboard, and any plastics #1-#7. Recycle Styrofoam packaging at the north Austin-based Cycled Plastics, and Styrofoam peanuts at your local pack-and-ship store.

6) Recycle gift cards: Mail your spent gift cards and other wallet waste free of charge to: Earthworks c/o Halprin Ind.; 25840 Miles Rd.; Bedford, OH 44146. Include an addressed/stamped envelope with any gift card you give, making it easy to recycle.

7) Green your tree: If you celebrate Christmas with a tree, consider buying a re-usable artificial tree through Craigslist, a live tree from a local Christmas tree farm, or a potted tree that you can plant afterward. If you are City of Austin pay-as-you-throw customer, recycle your tree by removing the stand and ornaments and placing your tree at the curb by 6:30 a.m. on the same day your yard waste and garbage is collected. Do not place your tree in a tree bag. If your tree is more than 6 feet tall, cut it in half. Apartment residents can bring their trees to Zilker Park (by the Polo Fields) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Jan. 2, 8, 9 and 15.

8) Opt for rechargeable batteries: Buy rechargeable batteries to accompany your electronic gifts, and consider giving a battery charger as well. Rechargeable batteries reduce the amount of potentially harmful materials thrown away, and can save money in the long run.

9) Buy & recycle electronics responsibly: With our growing appetite for cell phones, gaming systems, and e-readers also comes the growing environmental problem of electronic waste (only 12% gets recycled), which leaks toxic heavy metals into our environment. Buy electronics from retailers or manufacturers that take back and recycle their non-working products. For information about recycling anything, including your electronics, visit texastakeback.org and select “Electronics.”

10) Reduce and compost food waste: Wastedfood.com is a handy website that offers tips on how to compost leftover food. Or, for a $4 weekly fee, Green Bucket Composting will “do the dirty work for you.” For a limited time, the city of Austin offers a 75% rebate (up to $75) on all compost bins, when a City Solid Waste customer has or downsizes to a 30-gallon garbage can and takes an approved composting class, which is also offered online. http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/green30_challenge.htm

—Amy Chamberlain