Dear Editor:
Did you know that household waste in the US increases by 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day?

Our local Keep Troup Beautiful will help in an effort to recycle this waste as we sponsor our annual “Bring One for the Chipper” activity on Saturday, January 7 at the LaGrange Recycling Center “under the water tower” at Lafayette Parkway and South Davis Road.  Our effort this year is to collect any recyclables from the holidays – including electronics.

The following information is provided by www.OnlineSchools.org and the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation.

• 6 million tons of holiday waste will be created this holiday season.
• In the US, annual trash from gift wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons.
• Half of the paper America consumes is used to wrap and decorate consumer products.
• If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.
• The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the US could fill a football field ten stories high. If we each sent one card less, we’d save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.  Consider sending an electronic e-card.
• Each year, 50 million Christmas trees are purchased in the US. Of those, about 30 million go to the landfill.
• Electricity bill for lighting a tree for 12 hours for 40 days:
  • Incandescent lights: $25.13
  • LEDs: $0.56
• The average American spends $800 on gifts over the holiday season.
• Nearly 60% of Americans receive unwanted gifts during the holidays. And, 52% re-gift their unwanted gifts to others.
• According to a national survey, 70% of Americans would welcome less emphasis on gift-giving and spending.
• About 40% of all battery sales occur during the holiday season.
• According to the USDA, Americans throw away 25% of food purchased – 52 billion pounds a year. That’s 170 pounds per person!
• If each family reduced holiday gasoline consumption by one gallon (about 20 miles), we’d reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one million tons.

26 years of treecycling in Georgia has made “Bring One for the Chipper” the largest event of its kind in the nation.

 

2016 Results across Georgia:

• 108,468 trees were collected in total. Of these, 105,369 were recycled into mulch for playgrounds, city and county landscaping projects, and individual homes.
• 1,116 trees were sunk into lakes across the state to provide fish habitats. 1,587 were used for fuel or other uses.
• Over 6 million Christmas trees have been recycled and diverted from landfills since the start of the program.
• 60 local governments and/or organizations participated.
• 189 collection sites were set up throughout the State.
• 1,167 volunteers donated 5,071 hours of time.

We need your help to keep this waste out of our landfills.  Come by the recycling center and learn more of what we do while dropping off your recyclables.  And, register for door prizes and receive free tree seedlings!
Scott W. Landa

Executive Director, Keep Troup Beautiful