The Green Holiday Table

James Stevenson, Pinellas County Extension Specialist, Urban Sustainability

Choosing the Main Course


What to eat, what to eat? Are you planning a big holiday feast this year? Many families have a set, traditional meal, enjoyed every year. This may include familiar stand-by dishes, or may have a unique-to-the-family twist. Whatever your spread, the centerpiece of any feast can be a sustainable main.

If meat makes your meal, consider purchasing from a local butcher. You can order in advance, precisely what you want and when you want it. Although freezing food is certainly not a bad thing, there is something to be said for fresh meats and vegetables. Ask your butcher to forgo the plastic foam containers when wrapping your slab, opting for good old butcher’s paper in stead. From fowl to pig to cow, your butcher will know just where and when your choice came from.

This may be the year to have a seafood feast. Local seafood markets can help you make the best choice for your family. Freshly-caught seasonal fish from our own waters again support a local economy and do not travel hundreds of miles to get to your plate.

Whatever you choose, keep fresh and local in mind and enjoy your repast!

The Green Holiday Table

James Stevenson, Pinellas County Extension Specialist, Urban Sustainability

Fresh, Local Produce

As we’ve stated before, patronizing local markets is great for the local economy, ensures freshness, and is often more affordable than big supermarket chains.

Why not have a ‘Fresh From Florida’ feast this year? Visit Florida-Agriculture.com and learn about seasonal availability of Florida crops and other agricultural products. From seafood to sprouts to wine, you can support Florida agriculture, our local economy, and enjoy doing it!

Check the newspapers for a listing of local farmers’ markets. There are now markets in north, central and south Pinellas County—look for one near you! There are a myriad of small produce stands dotted throughout the county as well. Check the phone book under Produce-Retail for a list of green grocers near you.

Give the Gift of Green

James Stevenson, Pinellas County Extension Specialist, Urban Sustainability

Great Green Gifts

Need some inspiration for your holiday gift-giving this year? Here are some suggestions that can help you be as green as the Grinch (after his mood improved, of course...)

Why not help a friend or loved-one overcome some of the barriers we have all heard:
“I don’t have a (or enough) re-usable shopping bag(s)”
“Compact fluorescent bulbs are too expensive”
“I wish I had a rain barrel…”

Give the gift of green this year, by supplying yours with green items that will help them conserve resources in 2009:

Re-usable shopping bags
Compact fluorescent bulbs
A rain barrel
Battery re-charger (my dad LOVED his last year!)
A gift-basket of green cosmetics
A picnic basket filled with re-usable plates, cloth napkins, to-go cutlery, etc.

You may also consider supporting green industry:

A selection of Fair-Trade coffees and chocolates
A gift-certificate for green-certified products

Or perhaps you might be inspired to give a 100% waste-free gift:

Different charitable organizations will make a contribution in the name of your recipient. You can sponsor a goat, cow, flock of chickens, beehive, medicine, training or any number of products and services to help developing nations. As we struggle with our own economy, spare a thought for those countries that depend on charity to survive—and how charity may be dropping off during the “first world’s” crisis. Visit Oxfam Unwrapped to learn more.

Give the Gift of Green

James Stevenson, Pinellas County Extension Specialist, Urban Sustainability

Wrap it Up

Many of us love to see a lovely display of gifts in brightly-colored paper ready for exchange during the holidays. There are green options to this tradition as well, and when you hear the facts, you may consider making some green choices this year.

In the U.S., annual trash from gift-wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons. (Use Less Stuff) A good alternative is the gift bag. This quick and easy way to conceal goodies is a reusable item itself, and can be considered part of the gift.

Wherever wrapping paper is necessary, look for at least 30% post-consumer content paper. Pinellas County Utilities arranges for free, recycled-content paper every year, available in several outlets (including Pinellas County Extension.)

Do not hesitate to save those bows and ribbons for next year! If every US family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet!

Save gift tags as well. Family gift-giving generally involves the same “TOs” and “FROMs” each year. Consider a holiday craft project of making permanent labels to be attached to gifts each year.

Give the Gift of Green

James Stevenson, Pinellas County Extension Specialist, Urban Sustainability

Making Choices
Gift-giving has become a huge part of the holiday season. Jokes are made about receiving an obnoxious pair of socks, ridiculous sweater, or some other wildly-inappropriate item. This holiday-humor has a sinister undertone, however. If a gift is merely a token, and not carefully considered, that gift might very well end up in the waste stream. Just think of all the musical Santa ties stacked up in our local landfills!

When choosing a gift for a friend or loved-one, remember things like personal attire are just that: personal. A gift-card from a local business can be used at your friend’s leisure to get just what he or she wants. These almost waste-free gifts can solve lots of shopping conundrums.

Families may consider setting spending limits, or drawing names for gift exchange. This is certainly not a new idea, but according to a national survey, 70% of Americans would welcome less emphasis on gift giving and spending. (Center for a New American Dream) Especially during these troubled economic times, giving less means spending less, and less chance for the waste stream to burst its banks!

Ready, Set, SHOP! Buying Green for the Holidays

James Stevenson, Pinellas County Extension Specialist, Urban Sustainability

Green Shopping Tips

Before you head out to do the shopping this Holiday Season, don't forget the Big Three of Sustainability: Environment, Economy and Society.

We've endeavored to show that in every aspect of our lives, no matter how mundane, we can make choices that benefit the Big Three. Shopping, especially as it reaches a yearly peak this month, is a great place to stretch your green wings.

Environment

• Streamline shopping trips so you stay off the road as much as possible.


• When making any purchase, consider the packaging--if it comes down to a choice between two products, choose the one with the most easily-recycled/reused packaging.


• Buy whatever you can in bulk, especially items you and your family will be using a lot of this season.


• Don't forget to bring your reusable bags with you when you shop!

Economy

• Patronize local business for your shopping needs this year. Support for the "Little Guy" bolsters our local economy.


• Make a list and stick to it! Purchase only what you NEED.


• Shop on-line to avoid getting on the road and wasting gas.

Society

• Budget for a donation to a local charity.


• Take some time to visit/bring a gift to a shut-in.


• Before you bring a lot more "stuff" into your home, have a sort-through of what you've got and take any and all excess to a thrift shop (while you are there, you MIGHT just find that perfect something for that someone!!)
  

Ready, Set, SHOP! Buying Green for the Holidays.

James Stevenson, Pinellas County Extension Specialist, Urban Sustainability

Stop Holiday Waste in its Tracks

From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. Added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons - it all adds up to an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills (EPA.)

When making choices this year, consider what you are buying. Look at the amount of packaging, and thin where that extra packaging will end up. Try to purchase a minimum of packaging in all purchases. Enquire if stores will accept the return of packaging materials (especially the foam packing materials.)

Bring those reusable bags with you! If you need a reminder, work them into your holiday decorations: place a colorful and festive reminder next to the door you leave from reminding you to collect the reusable bags before you leave!

Do not take a holiday from recycling this year! Check with your local recycling agency to make sure you know the holiday schedule. Plan a special trip to a drop-off location on one of days early in the new year to get rid of a lot of recycling at once.