Undoubtedly one of the most thrilling Christmas morning activities for both children and adults is tearing apart the wrapping paper. It brightens up your gifts and brings immense amounts of holiday cheer. But once the gifts are given, received and opened, the magic wears off and is replaced by a mountain of trash.

Wrapping paper is shiny and covered in glitter and can be terrible for the environment.  It cannot be recycled and just adds more waste to the landfill.

It can go so far as to even affect animals too. Animals are attracted to the glitter and may eat it which can build up in their stomachs and be lethal.

There is also the additional problem of sticky tape, which frequently still has paper attached when thrown away. The tape is also not recyclable.

We reuse Christmas ornaments every year to decorate the tree, so why should the wrapping paper be any different? What makes it so special that you have to get new wrapping paper every year?

There are many different ways we can reduce wrapping paper waste. You can reuse wrapping paper to prevent it from pilling up in the landfill. You can even wrap gifts in a scarf or towel to make the fabric a part of the gift. You can make wrapping an occasion by using old newspapers or magazine cutouts.

Instead of wrapping up your gifts with glittery wrapping paper that isn’t good for anyone or anything, let’s try to find other alternatives that will help us in the long run. Happy holidays, and may they be as eco-friendly as possible!