While the leaves in the trees continue to change to fiery shades of crimson, amber and gold, there are ways to transform Turkey Day to a lovely shade of GREEN. While we’re all dreaming of carving that perfectly prepared turkey on the big day, your friends at Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful have curated eight eco-friendly ways to carve out some of the waste from this year’s Thanksgiving Feast. So, whether you’re an aspiring environmental steward or you’re a tried-and-true tree hugger, try and implement some – if not all – of these planet-loving practices at your home this holiday season…

Supply Run: Bring Your Reusable Shopping Bags

The first step to hosting a holiday feast involves shopping for all the ingredients. Be sure you’ve got your reusable shopping bags at the ready. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic grocery bags a year. Sadly, those plastic bags often get thrown away instead of recycled. And an estimated 300 million of them end up in the Atlantic Ocean each year – further contributing to the pollution of our world’s oceans. 

Put the Happy in THEIR Thanksgiving: Purchase Your Produce Through a Local Farmer

While out shopping for supplies, do some research on local farms that sell their produce on-site or at a nearby farmers’ market. Farmers’ markets are a terrific resource for not only fresh fruits and veggies, but also often for fresh eggs, cheese, bread and more. You’ll be checking items off your list while supporting the livelihoods of neighboring farmers AND reducing your carbon footprint by shopping local and not driving to a gourmet shop two towns over.

Portion Control: Plan to Feed Your Family, Not an Army

Before you shop, be sure to review all your recipes and stick to a certain number of portions that coincides with your family members and the number of guests you’ll be hosting. Needless to say, some guests can eat more than others and there’s nothing better than Thanksgiving leftovers, so leave yourself a little wiggle room. You don’t want anyone to leave hungry – particularly not on this specific holiday!

Start a Curbside Collection: Lead by Example When It Comes to Recycling

In addition to collecting all the cans and cardboard boxes from the ingredients used to create your special feast, have your recycling container prominently placed. That way your guests can contribute to the collection – instead of potentially throwing away items that might otherwise be collected at your curbside for recycling. Need to brush up on your knowledge of how to prepare your items for recycling? Visit the Recycling Page at www.GwinnettCB.org. 

Break Out the Good China: It’s Time to Ditch the Paper Plates and Plastic Utensils

We get it. Sturdy paper plates and plastic utensils cut out the cleaning time, giving you more time to spend with your family and dinner guests. However, paper plates and napkins along with plastic utensils accumulate needlessly in our local landfills. Forbes reports that roughly 40 billion plastic utensils per year end up in landfills. As for paper plates, even if marked as a recyclable, they cannot be recycled once contaminated with food. The “good china” was made for special occasions like Thanksgiving! Consider just leaving the dirty dishes in the sink until everyone goes home for the evening so you don’t rob yourself of precious time spent together.

Dine By Candlelight: Burn Candles Instead of Kilowatt Hours

Between the mixing, the roasting, the baking, and the carving, a LOT of electricity is used on Thanksgiving Day – not to mention the annual viewing of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. To save a LITTLE BIT of that energy, consider adding the romantic glow of candlelight to the festivities during the meal and shutting off the electric lights for a short while. Look for soy and beeswax candles – they are the most environmentally friendly ones on the market. Your standard paraffin wax candle is a petroleum byproduct that releases up to ten grams of CO2 per hour – so steer clear of those.

Leftovers Anyone? Have Plenty of Storage Containers at the Ready

Unless you’ve made your portions EXACTLY to match the number of guests, chances are, there will be leftovers from your Thanksgiving table. But that can be a good thing! Especially if you have plenty of reusable storage containers on hand. Either invest in a collection that you won’t mind parting with ahead of the holiday or ask your guests to bring their own, then portion out those leftovers so everyone has a piece of the feast to take home and enjoy later.

Nothing Goes to Waste: Compost Food Scraps

Of course, not everything is salvageable as leftovers. Those inedible food scraps, produce peels, egg shells and coffee grounds from the after-dinner pot you made can go right into your compost pile to break down for a nutrient-rich fertilizer that will come in handy for your flower beds next Spring. Don’t have a compost pile? Learn how to start your own compost pile at www.GwinnettCB.org. 

From all of us here at Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, we wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!