Wasteless Holidays in Edmonton

Did you know that the Edmonton Waste Management Centre sees a huge spike in waste around the holiday season? Encourage friends and family to reduce, reuse and recycle this season, and help us give Edmonton a wasteless holiday!

Wasteless gifts

• Give experiences and share memories! Gift concert tickets, plan an outing, or take a friend for a nice dinner.
• Donate your time and energy to a special someone's favourite charity, or make a donation in their name.
• Gift consumables you know will be used or eaten. Look for products with minimal packaging.
• Have a re-gift exchange, where everyone brings an nice item that they no longer use instead of purchasing new.

Wrap gifts in fabric, and use old cards to make gift tags.

Reused wrapping

• Wrap gifts in reusable materials like fabric, and save them for use next year.
• Make the wrapping part of the gift! Use a pretty shawl, handkerchief, scarf or a tea towel instead of wrapping paper.
• Use newsprint, magazine pages, or flyers to wrap gifts.
• Reuse paper gift bags from gifts you've gotten.
• Make gift tags out of old holiday cards.

Get creative with your holiday decorating!

Decorating

• Get creative, and decorate with reused items.
• Donate unwanted holiday items, and shop second hand for new-to-you decorations! Visit the Reuse Centre and bring home up to 50 kg of holiday items for just $5, including gift wrap, decorations, and even artificial Christmas trees!

Food waste

• Send party guests home with leftovers, so you don't end up with a fridge full! Keep containers or bags on hand for quick and easy packaging.
• Keep a list of post-holiday recipes that will help you use up leftovers. 
• Donate unopened goodies to a food bank.
• Portion leftovers into small containers and freeze them for later use. Chop up meats and veggies before freezing so you can toss them directly into soups, casseroles, and other recipes.

Visit edmonton.ca/wastelessholidays for more inspiration.

Share your holiday waste reduction ideas using the hashtag #wastelessholidays on social media.

Photos provided by the City of Edmonton Reuse Centre