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2008 News and Information

Metro Vancouver Launches Low Waste Holiday Shopping Campaign

03 December 2008 

“Give the Gift . . . Not the Garbage.”

That’s the theme of a new Metro Vancouver education and advertising campaign aimed at consumers during the gift-giving season.

During the first two weeks that follow Christmas and the New Year, a larger-than-normal mountain of trash ends up in the region’s solid waste transfer stations.

The data collected at waste transfer stations one year ago shows the number of vehicles dropping off garbage goes up by about 10 per cent after the winter holidays. However, the weight of the trash left behind by those vehicles is only five per cent higher than the pre-Christmas period – likely because a lot of light packaging waste is brought in just after Christmas and Boxing Day.

Boxes are a visible part of the waste stream after Boxing Day. Supervisors see a lot of cardboard, wrapping paper and polystyrene packaging. People seem to use cardboard toy boxes as receptacles for other waste and throw the whole box away. That’s despite the fact that cardboard can be recycled and has been banned from the garbage for many years.

“Give two gifts – something special for someone you love, and the gift of zero waste,” said Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, the vice-chair of Metro Vancouver’s waste management committee and the Mayor of West Vancouver.

“Put your presents inside a reusable gift bag, wrap them in old posters or new fabric.”

Currently, about half of the region’s waste is recycled and the other half becomes “garbage.”

The region’s Zero Waste Challenge goal: divert 70 per cent of the region’s solid waste from landfills and the region’s waste-to-energy facility by 2015.

The paper and cardboard thrown out during the first few weeks of January are a small part of the estimated 215,000 tonnes of paper fibre that become garbage in the region each year. Paper and cardboard accounts for 14 per cent of the region’s disposed solid waste, although most of that paper could be recycled into new paper products.

This holiday season, Metro Vancouver is advertising a Zero Waste Challenge message that reminds people in the region to consider the three Rs during their commute or trip to a store. The ads ask everyone to:
  • “Reduce . . . ask the retailer if they take back extra packaging.” 
  • “Reuse . . . old paper, comic strips and magazines make a great gift wrap."
  • “Recycle . . . sort through wrap and cardboard. Most of it can be recycled.”

 Some low-waste holiday tips from Metro Vancouver:

  • Wrapping paper is often used once and thrown away. If you have to use wrapping paper, at least make sure it’s made from recycled paper and avoid the shiny foil stuff. Try using colourful pages torn from magazines to wrap small gifts and old maps or the Sunday comics for larger boxes. Make your own. Decorate newsprint or paper bags.
  • Avoid using paper entirely by using reusable decorative tins, baskets or boxes. If you do buy wrapping paper, look for ones made of recycled paper. Reusable cloth ribbons can be used in place of plastic bows. Make your own reusable gift bags out of fabric. Finally, unwrap gifts carefully and save wrappings for reuse next year.
  • Give a gift within a gift – like a hat in a matching scarf, barbeque or picnic supplies in a tablecloth or apron – be creative.
  • Instead of material gifts, consider gifts of your time or expertise. For example, offer to do chores, babysitting, etc. Or, offer to teach someone your expertise: how to bake, knit, repair things, etc. Buy someone an experience like dinner, a play, a dance lesson or a movie.
  • If you buy gifts, look for durable and re-usable items and resist the latest "fad" at the shopping mall. Buy rechargeables for gifts needing batteries. Think of how many pet rocks, mood rings, and cabbage patch dolls ended up in the landfill!
  • Look for gifts that are unpackaged or minimally packaged, without unnecessary plastic wrap or cardboard backing. Or, if possible, leave the packaging at the store.
  • Look for gifts with an environmental message: a refillable thermos or water bottle, a canvas tote bag, a battery recharger or items made from recycled materials. Choose solar powered instead of battery powered products. Or better yet, ones that require no power at all.
  • Other environmentally-smart gifts include homemade ones: homebaked cookies, bread or jams, a plant or tree. Gifts that get "used up": candles, soap, or seeds for next year's garden.
  • If you go out shopping, bring your own tote bags and avoid coming home with an armload of plastic bags each holding just one item.
  • If you send holiday cards, look for ones made of recycled paper. Avoid cards with glossy, shiny or gold foil coatings since these cannot be recycled. Save the cards that you get in the mail, cut off the front pictures, and reuse as "postcards” or gift labels next year. This saves on postage too. Or, send ''electronic cards'' or make a phone call instead!
  • Buy a live tree you can plant or an artificial tree you can use year after year. For tree trimmings, try edible or compostable items like popcorn or cranberries on a string, gingerbread cookies or items made from "found" objects around your home.