Tips for a clean, green holiday season
Dec. 12, 2005 –Here are a few tips to help keep our air cleaner this holiday season:
Recycle the wrap: As you share gifts with family and friends, remember not to burn any wrapping paper in your fireplace or wood stove. Burning paper is illegal, and the inks and foils used in wrapping paper often contain chemicals that can be toxic when burned. Instead, recycle non-foil wrapping paper along with your mixed paper, either curbside or at your local transfer station. Dispose of foil paper in the trash.
Burn smart, burn clean: Natural gas and propane stoves and fireplaces are the cleanest ways to warm the hearth for the season. Certified wood stoves are a cleaner alternative to open fireplaces and old uncertified stoves. Manufactured logs such as Duraflame are a great option for wood fires. Made of compressed sawdust, a recycled material, these logs burn much cleaner than cut firewood, and they burn longer for less hassle.
Tree-cycle the greens: When it’s time un-trim the tree, turn it into garden mulch for little or no money. It’s easy and air friendly. And remember, it is illegal to burn unseasoned wood, such as a fresh Christmas tree, in your fireplace or wood stove. To prepare your tree for recycling, remove hangers, ornaments and tinsel. Flocked trees can’t be recycled, and some tree-cycling programs have diameter limits. Some tree-cycling programs offer people wood chips to mulch their gardens.
Related resources:
