5 Tips For A Sustainable Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season here in the US. Unfortunately, it also marks an increase in food and packaging waste. Between Thanksgiving and the New Year, Americans waste over 5 million tons of food. On Thanksgiving alone, we waste a whopping $293 million worth of food.
This wasted food is not only costly to us, it’s also costly to nature. When you throw food or other organic material away, it enters the waste stream and eventually winds up in a landfill. At the landfill, it’s buried, begins to decompose anaerobically (without oxygen), and emits methane, a major greenhouse gas and contributor to climate change.
How can we ensure that we have an abundant, satisfying, and less wasteful Thanksgiving? Here are some tips to help you celebrate the season and take care of the planet.
- When shopping, look for items with less packaging. Avoid buying pre-packaged produce if possible.
- Support your local farmers by buying ingredients sourced close to home. Shopping locally also helps cut down on transportation-related emissions.
- Avoid disposable utensils. If you must use them, be sure to get compostable dinner ware. Note: these can be composted in a commercial composting facility- composting them at home can be difficult.
- Have your guests and family members bring their own take away containers, so they get the leftovers, not the landfill.
- Compost your food scraps instead of throwing them out. If you don’t have a compost pile or worm bin, creating one could be a fun family project for the long weekend. Worm bins are especially easy and transform your food scraps into a nutrient rich soil amendment.
Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at Explore Ecology!
Josh was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where his passion and curiosity for the environment began and has continued to grow. During his undergraduate studies, Josh pursued this interest at the University of California at Santa Cruz, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies.
Melissa Dodos developed her passion for creative reuse as a mother of four and elementary educator over the past 25 years. She loves to inspire creativity by connecting people with resources and ideas.
Veronica grew up in San Diego and spent four years in San Luis Obispo studying Animal Science at Cal Poly. As an undergrad she learned lots about livestock, agriculture, and wildlife.
Stephanie began her journey as an educator over twenty years ago working as a preschool teacher in Washington state for a cooperative preschool program affiliated with Whatcom Community College. She loved observing the wonder and curiosity of the children and bringing them out into nature to explore the natural world. She continued her love for learning and got her teaching license and then her Montessori certification and worked as an elementary teacher in Tribal, Public, and Montessori schools. She collaborated to create a school garden and her students loved it so much that it became a special place where they could garden, read, explore, play, and it provided a safe sanctuary for students to calm down and reset when they were having difficult moments.
Morgan’s mermaid soul is always seeking adventure—swimming a relay across the Santa Barbara Channel and taking the first photo of a newborn orca off Anacapa Island being standout experiences close to home.
Lindsay Johnson
