給地球的禮物?如何減少假日浪費

給地球的禮物?如何減少假日浪費

While the holiday season is a time of giving and thoughtfulness, it can also be a time of excess and waste.

雖然假期是一個給予和體貼的日子，但也可能是一個過度和浪費的節(jié)日。

Americans throw away 25 percent more trash than usual between Thanksgiving and New Year’s — about a million extra tons of garbage each week, according to the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group devoted to helping people to be more environmentally responsible.

美國國家環(huán)境教育基金會(NEEF)是一個總部位于華盛頓的非營利組織，致力于幫助人們更加環(huán)保，該組織稱，美國人在感恩節(jié)到新年期間扔掉的垃圾比平時多25%——每周大約多扔掉100萬噸垃圾。

There are plenty of ways to celebrate the spirit of the holidays while giving a gift to the earth (and maybe your wallet) as well.

有很多方式來慶祝節(jié)日的精神，同時給地球一個禮物(也許是你的錢包)。

For starters, go with reusable gift wrap, and recycle wrapping paper and ribbon. “Gift wrap is top on the list of wasteful holiday traditions. An easy hack is to wrap gifts in unused maps, comics for kids or, for larger gifts, printed pillowcases. You probably have these things around your house already,” says Rachel Sylvester, lifestyle editor for Real Simple.

首先，使用可重復使用的禮品包裝，回收包裝紙和絲帶。禮物包裝是最浪費的節(jié)日傳統(tǒng)之一。一種簡單的方法是把禮物包裝在不用的地圖、給孩子看的漫畫書里，或者是給大一點的禮物包裝在印有圖案的枕套里。你家里可能已經有這些東西了。

Every year, Americans discard an estimated 38,000 miles of ribbon, enough to wrap around the planet with some left over to tie a bow, according to NEEF.

根據(jù)NEEF的數(shù)據(jù)，美國人每年扔掉約3.8萬英里長的彩帶，這些彩帶足夠繞地球一周，還剩下一些彩帶可以用來打蝴蝶結。

Sylvester says it’s easy to save on gift tags by writing the names of recipients directly on the gift, or color-coding gifts by recipient. Let your friends and family know you’re opting out of single-use wrapping paper and gift tags this year.

西爾維斯特說，把收禮者的名字直接寫在禮物上，或者用收禮者的顏色編碼，這樣就很容易省下買禮物的錢。讓你的朋友和家人知道，你今年選擇不使用一次性包裝紙和禮物標簽。

Host gifts can also be more eco-friendly. For holiday dinners and parties, Sylvester recommends reusable drawstring pouches when bringing wine and other presents, and carrying homemade baked goods in mason jars or decorative, reusable boxes.

主人送的禮物也可以更加環(huán)保。在節(jié)日晚餐和派對上，西爾維斯特建議攜帶葡萄酒和其他禮物時使用可重復使用的拉繩袋，并建議攜帶自制的焙烤食品，如玻璃瓶或裝飾性的可重復使用的盒子。

For greeting cards, “I would suggest going paperless for holiday cards, which generally get trashed after the holidays anyway,” says Sylvester. “Your friends and family might rather have a card they can keep on their hard drive for the long haul instead of on their fridge for a week.”

至于賀卡，西爾維斯特說:“我建議在節(jié)日賀卡上使用無紙化的賀卡，通常在節(jié)日過后就會被丟棄。”“你的朋友和家人可能更愿意在他們的硬盤上放一張可以長期使用的卡片，而不是放在冰箱里一個星期。”

For decorations, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends opting for a living tree that can be planted outdoors, and using energy-saving LED holiday lights. LEDs use around 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs, and last longer, too, the EPA says.

對于裝飾，環(huán)保局建議選擇一棵可以在室外種植的活樹，并使用節(jié)能LED節(jié)日燈。環(huán)保署說，LED比白熾燈泡耗電量少75%，而且壽命也更長。

Remember to reduce food waste and avoid single-use plastics. “When hosting parties and holiday meals, use real or compostable table settings instead of plastics. And if you’re short on table settings, try a service like TableandTeaspoon.com, which delivers table settings in advance and then invites you to return the dirty dishes afterward,” Sylvester says.

記住要減少食物浪費，避免使用一次性塑料制品。“舉辦聚會和節(jié)日聚餐時，使用真正的或可堆肥的餐具，而不是塑料餐具。如果你沒有足夠的餐具，可以試試TableandTeaspoon.com這樣的服務，它會提前提供餐具，然后邀請你把臟盤子退回去，”西爾維斯特說。

Have recyclable to-go containers handy for guests to take leftovers home, and familiarize yourself with local compost centers ahead of time, so food waste doesn’t end up in the landfill.

準備好可回收的外帶容器，方便客人把剩菜帶回家，提前熟悉當?shù)氐亩逊手行?，這樣食物垃圾就不會被扔到垃圾填埋場。

For gifts, think outside the store: homemade crafts or foods, or experiences instead of stuff. Give coupons for things like cooking a dinner or babysitting, Sylvester suggests. For example, look to knitting, sewing, baking or creating art as gifts.

至于禮物，考慮一下商店外的東西:自制的工藝品或食物，或體驗，而不是物質。西爾維斯特建議，為做飯或照看孩子等活動提供優(yōu)惠券。例如，把編織、縫紉、烘焙或藝術創(chuàng)作作為禮物。

Bea Johnson, author of Zero Waste Home, suggests homemade candles, soap or paper as other gift ideas. Museum memberships, magazine subscriptions or gift certificates to restaurants or concert halls all make great gifts, she says.

《家庭零浪費》的作者Bea Johnson建議用自制的蠟燭、肥皂或紙張作為禮物。她說，博物館會員資格、雜志訂閱、餐館或音樂廳的禮券都是不錯的禮物。