With Christmas right around the corner and the New Year in close pursuit, the Holiday Season is in full swing. As we prepare to ring in 2011, here’s an idea for your New Year’s resolution: Why not observe all the upcoming eco-holidays over the next 12 months?
 
Here’s a list of nine green holidays and we’re betting you’ve never heard of some of them! Please visit GreenWala.com to see detailed descriptions of each.
 
1)    World Wetland Day, February 2nd
2)    World Forestry Day, March, 21st
3)    World Water Day, March 22nd
4)    Earth Day, April 22nd (check out our Zero Waste events calendar for a number of Earth Day activities and events in San Bernardino County)
5)    Arbor Day, April 29th
6)    World Environment Day, June 5th
7)    World Oceans Day, June 8th
8)    Pollution Prevention Week, September 19th-25th
9)    America Recycles Day, November 15th
 
Okay, maybe you won’t be able to observe all of the eco-holidays, but why not pick a couple and appreciate our natural environment a bit more than usual that day? Sounds like a green New Year’s resolution we can get behind.

On that note, what are your environmental friendly goals for the upcoming year? We’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.

In our last installment here we talked a bit about how to reduce waste this holiday season by recycling that used, old wrapping paper.

This week we’d like to take it a step further by introducing a few cool ideas that will eliminate wrapping paper altogether, yet still provide your family and loved ones the never-ending fun of not knowing what their gifts may be (if we can keep it a secret).
 
What are we even talking about? We’re talking about alternatives to wrapping paper, that’s what!
 
CraftingaGreenWorld.com offers some, dare we say, creative and classy ways to wrap up gifts of all shapes and sizes, with no paper at all. The site also shows us how to do it right, in easy steps for each of the paperless ideas.
 
Ever thought of using cloth to package and tie up your presents? How about cloth bags to hold your gifts where the bag itself is actually a reusable gift? How about jars? Fabric gift baskets or metal tins? What about repurposing used VHS tape as package ribbon? Yeah, pretty cool huh? We thought so too.

The options are indeed endless for those willing to explore alternative ways to present gifts without the use of paper. So check out these great ideas and let us know in the comment section below which you believe is the coolest, as well as any other options that you have seen or used!

Be sure to check back next week for a great list of 2011's forthcoming eco-holidays!

If you were asked, you could probably guess what our Monthly Recyclable is this month. Correct! It is wrapping paper!

You know what we are talking about. As all the gifts are snatched open by the kids (and the young-at-heart), wrapping paper piles start to build. If we throw this in the trash it will go to the landfill.

Good thing there is another, more eco-friendly option: Just recycle it!

It’s easy to do. Collect the paper every time a gift is opened.  At the end of the  celebration, place the paper in your Curbside Recycling bin and your local hauler will  pick it up and make sure it doesn’t go to waste.
 
Got more creative ways of recycling your wrapping paper? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments section below.
 
Keep recycling right and Happy Holidays!
 
PS: If wrapping paper isn’t your thing and you want to take your holiday greening a step further, come back next week for alternative options to traditional gift wrapping paper.
 

That’s right, after a bit of a hiatus the San Bernardino County Zero Waste Communities’ blog has made a triumphant return!  Not only will our blog be filling up with great material on a regular basis in upcoming weeks - we will also be launching a new Zero Waste quarterly e-Newsletter, which we hope you'll sign up to receive via email.
 
 We have the answers you’ll be looking for. Come back soon, as the Zero Waste blog will be sharing green tips about how to make your year the most environmentally friendly to date.

In the meantime, please check out the useful  WhatCanIRecycle.org, which you may have seen on local bus shelters.

3 easy steps to recycling right:

1. Click on the city where you reside.
2. Take a look at the list of acceptable items that can be placed in your recycle bin.
3. Bookmark the page so you can reference it whenever you have a question about what is and what is not a recyclable item.

Remember, depending on where you live, your recycle container may be green, grey or blue so make sure you know which one you have! Are there any materials you have questions about? Let us know!
 
See you next week! Same time. Same place.