Tips for a Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season here in the US. Unfortunately, it also marks a drastic increase in food and packaging waste. Did you know that between Thanksgiving and the New Year, Americans throw away 25% more trash? This extra waste equals about 25 million tons of garbage. On Thanksgiving alone, about $293 million worth of food is wasted in the US. Food waste is costly, not only for us, but also for the environment. When we throw food or other organic material away, it enters the waste stream and winds up in a landfill. At the landfill, it’s buried, begins to decompose anaerobically, and emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas and contributor to climate change.
At Explore Ecology, we’re always looking for ways to lessen our impact on the environment. 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.
- Bring a large assortment of reusable shopping bags with you to the store- smaller bags for bulk items and produce and larger bags for groceries.
- Purchase items that come with less packaging and try to avoid buying pre-packaged produce.
- Buy from bulk bins if your store has them.
- Support local farmers by buying ingredients sourced close to home. Shopping locally also helps cut down on transportation-related emissions.
- Practice stem to root cooking- use as much of your vegetables as you can.
- Have a lot of leftover fresh herbs? Cover them with olive oil and freeze in ice cube trays for future use.
- Avoid single use plastic or styrofoam and use real utensils, plates, and cups. Cloth napkins look beautiful and can be washed and reused.
- Have your guests and family members bring their own take away containers, so you feed them and not the landfill.
- Practice zero waste kitchen rules. Freeze leftovers instead of throwing them out so you can feast again in a couple of weeks. Compost food scraps. If you don’t have a compost pile or worm bin, creating one could be a fun project for the long weekend. Worm bins are especially easy and transform your food scraps into a nutrient rich soil amendment.
We wish you and yours a fabulous and safe Thanksgiving!
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
