The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants residents to cut back on holiday waste.
The Holiday season is considered one of the most wasteful times of the year in Wisconsin and throughout the whole country, so the DNR has offered tips on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
While many may not first think of reducing food waste as a form of recycling, food scraps account for the largest part of trash in Wisconsin landfills.
The DNR recommends shopping with a planned headcount for holiday meals to cut down on the amount that gets thrown out.
They also recommend freezing holiday leftovers for future use before throwing them away, or consider composting food waste rather than sending it to a landfill, where it will emit thousands of metric tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Another major portion of holiday waste comes in the form of heightened levels of cardboard, wrapping paper, string lights, and newspaper.
To cut down on waste, Wisconsinites are asked to reuse newspaper as wrapping paper and to be conscientious of what can and cannot be thrown away.
Things such as magazines, office paper, and aluminum cans are banned from landfills, and thus must be recycled to keep these materials that are harmful to the environment from damaging the state’s natural resources.
A comprehensive list of ways to cut back on waste this holiday season can be found online at dnr.wisconsin.gov.
