GreenYour.com

Nothing ramps up your gift-giving wattage like the dazzle and shine of wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows. Unfortunately, all this pretty trim can add up to a mountain of waste and depleted resources.

The not-so-pretty side of giftwrap

Indeed, as much as half of the 85 million tons of paper products America consumes every year goes toward packaging, wrapping, and decorating consumer goods.[1] Wrapping paper and shopping bags alone account for about 4 million tons of trash annually in the US.[2] Giftwrap's impact on our waste flow becomes especially noticeable during the holiday shopping season when Americans create an average of 25 percent more trash than usual, to the tune of 1 million additional tons each week between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.[3]

Like most forms of paper, giftwrap impacts the environment adversely during its disposal and production alike, initially consuming virgin resources (trees, water, fuel) before ending up in landfills. Compared to other industries, pulp and paper manufacturing uses the most water per ton of product.

Trashy giftwrap

Add to the paper production problems the fact that most conventional giftwrap is not recyclable, and you've got waste at both ends of the usage line. Local waste management centers often differ in their approaches to giftwrap recycling. For example, New York City recycles wrapping paper as part of its standard mixed-paper flow, while the city of Boulder, Colorado, accepts giftwrap for only one month each year after the holiday season, listing it as a contaminant within the normal paper recycling stream for the remainder of the year due to its high clay and ink contents.

Wrapping sustainably

A recent survey from HSBC polls suggests that a majority of respondents—both American and international alike—view wrapping paper as a waste of resources, but the tradition of wrapping gifts remains firmly embedded in the spirit of giving. So even though gifts aren't likely to go au naturel anytime soon, there is a silver (tinged with green) lining. Ever more eco-friendly wrapping options exist, such as recyclable kraft paper and reusable gift bags, and people (at least the respondents of this survey) say they're open to using them.[4] Just a small turnaround in wrap habits would reap significant eco-benefits. For instance, if every family in America relied on reused materials to wrap just three gifts, they would save enough paper to blanket 45,000 football fields.[5]

Related health issues

Like most paper products, giftwrap undergoes bleaching during the production process. While processed paper itself poses no documented health threat for humans, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified dioxin—a byproduct of the chlorine gas often used in the paper bleaching process—as a toxic pollutant, and has specifically targeted paper mills as a source of dioxin entry into nearby waterways and wildlife areas.

Claims surrounding the extent of specific dangers posed by dioxin remain controversial, but the EPA has advocated substituting the less-toxic chlorine dioxide compound for chlorine gas in US paper plants. This has, in turn, prompted the adoption of alternate bleaching procedures to limit or eliminate dioxin byproducts, which have since been implemented in some form by approximately 80 percent of domestic paper manufacturers.[6]

External links

• Co-op America - Ten Ways to Green Your Shopping
• Environmental Resource Center - Deck the Halls with Less Waste This Year!