While many people hope for a white Christmas, one group hopes you'll have a "green" holiday. Even just small changes can have a big impact in helping to save energy and reduce waste this holiday season. Joyce Harms is the Communications Director for Clean Wisconsin . She suggests, when looking for Christmas gifts, carry a reusable shopping bag. "There are over 125,000 tons of plastic packaging that are thrown away at Christmas time alone just from the extra packaging … plastic bags and such that are used when people shop."
Also, Harms says the tree in the capitol rotunda has the right idea. It's adorned with energy-saving LED lights, which are 90% more efficient than traditional colorful light bulbs. "According to the Department of Energy — the US Department of Energy — if everyone substituted LEDs on their outdoor decorating as well as their Christmas tree, over 2-billion kilowatt hours would be saved. That's enough energy to power 200,000 homes for an entire year.
Harms notes, you can save energy used to transport products to the state, by purchasing locally produced items. She says you can purchase holiday cards made on recycled paper, and when you're done with your tree, recycle it rather than sending it to a landfill.
As for re-gifting , that's your call.