Why reusable gift wrap?
TRADITIONAL GIFT WRAP OFTEN CAN’T BE RECYCLED, THAT’S WHY
Why reuse?
Tape, plastic ribbons and metallic or glitter on traditional gift wrap paper makes it impossible to recycle, so the only option is landfill or incineration.
In addition, household waste can increase more than 25% over the holidays.
The small bits of plastic that make up the glitter, metallic finishes and tape can break down into microplastics and get washed out into our waterways.
These tiny bits of plastic then get into the bellies of marine creatures and birds who eat the bits thinking they are food (or feed the bits to their young). Filled with plastic, the animals feel full.
Feeling full, the animals don’t eat proper food and can ultimately starve to death.
Canadian Trash Stats
Over the holidays, each Canadian generates an estimated 50 kilograms of garbage, made up of:
3,000 tonnes of foil
2.6 billion Christmas cards
six millions rolls of tape
540,000 tonnes of waste is generated from gift wrapping and shopping bags each year: the equivalent of the weight of 100,000 elephants or 4.5 CN Towers.
US Trash Stats
4.6 million pounds of wrapping paper is purchased each year (costing seven billion dollars).
Half of that number ends up in a landfill: that’s 2.3 million pounds of paper thrown out yearly.
United Kingdom Trash Stats
100 million bags of trash are sent to landfill each Christmas.
Three-and-a-half black bags full of gift wrapping materials will be thrown out per household.
This equates to 108 million rolls of wrapping paper.
50,000 trees are cut down each year to make this paper.
tonnes of gift wrap trashed in Canada/year
pounds of paper trashed in US/year
rolls of gift wrap trashed in the UK/year
Resources
Gift wrapping (from Waste Reduction Week)
We toss 540k tonnes of wrapping paper after the holidays: here’s how to give without the garbage
Never buy gift paper again: the ultimate guide to zero waste wrapping
Is wrapping paper recyclable? The truth might surprise you
Holiday tip: don’t recycle gift wrap
Environmentalists want you to reduce waste and be more eco-friendly this Christmas
5 Reasons Why It’s Time To Bin Wrapping Paper This Christmas
The Wrapping Paper Waste Problem – and what can be done about it
Eco-Freek Wrapping Paper Infographic (JPG)
Regarding plastics in the oceans
Albatross the Film
I contributed to the crowdfunding of this film, which details what is happening to our plastic waste and how our throw-away culture is harming wildlife. I feel it is a very important piece of work. From the website:
In the heart of the great Pacific, a story is taking place that may change the way you see everything.
ALBATROSS is offered as a free public artwork. Watch the 3-minute trailer now.
The full film, a beautiful and ultimately heartbreaking piece of work, can be found here. Watching it motivated me to make changes to how I live my life, which in part led me to create these reusable fabric gift bags and squares.