Holiday Waste Watch

December 10, 2018

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Gift-wrapping paper is so nice, why not use it twice? Each year, Americans toss out 25 million tons of wrapping paper during the holidays. So why aren’t we recycling it? Not all wrapping paper can be recycled, says David Bernick, an engineer in California. “Wrapping paper is difficult to recycle because of the inks that are used to make paper pretty,” he says.

One of the best ways to be more environmentally friendly would be to reuse wrapping paper and ribbons. You could also use newspaper, old posters, or even make your own by decorating plain office paper instead. These types of paper can be recycled with no problem!

YOUR TURN

About 127 million families live in the U.S. If every family reused 2 feet of ribbon, would it be enough to tie a bow around Earth, which has a circumference of 24,901 miles? (Hint: There are 5,280 feet in 1 mile.) Record your work and answer on our Numbers in the News answer sheet.