Each holiday season brings joy, gatherings—and often, unnecessary waste. Discover easy ways to minimize food waste, reuse decorations, and make eco-friendly choices for a festive and sustainable celebration.
Every year, the holidays bring an abundance of food, festivities…and well, waste. Amid this year’s festive gatherings, discover how to reduce your food waste, repurpose decorations, and celebrate a zero-waste holiday season with a bit of creativity and simple swaps.
One of the easiest ways to help our environment is to eliminate food waste. Food waste has a life far beyond disposing your leftovers – did you know that landfill-bound food waste emits methane, a hazardous gas known as a climate super pollutant?
Taking only what you know you’ll eat is the best way to eliminate food waste. But, if your eyes are bigger than your stomach, read on for tips on how to reduce your food waste, and waste in general, this holiday season.
Zero Waste Gifts & Holiday Decor
- Gift experiences like a pottery or cooking class, picnic, or a massage.
- Gift homemade jams, chocolates, pies, fresh bread.
- Gift plants and seedlings.
- Use fabric, decorate butcher paper for a personalized touch, newspaper, brown packing paper and jars as gift wrap.
- Make reusable fabric gift tags.
- Shop local Certified Green Businesses.
- Don’t Waste Edible Food Scraps.
- Avoid unnecessary purchases and overpreparing by meal planning and shopping with a list.
Indulge your inner chef and get creative with edible food scraps
- Shredded meat from a holiday dinner can be used in frittatas, omelets, quiches, or breakfast burritos.
- Leftover pie dough can be transformed into baked brie and mini hand pies.
- Elevate your sandwiches by using leftover turkey for a delectable turkey, cranberry and brie grilled cheese.
- Add leftover roasted veggies to a risotto or pasta dish.
- Freeze edible food scraps and learn proper food storage techniques to extend the life of your edible food scraps.
Visit the below links for more information on reducing your food waste during the holidays and year-round!
- www.savethefood.com
- FoodKeeper Apps
- www.cityofventura.ca.gov/1171/Food-Waste-Prevention
Compost All Inedible Food Scraps
Participate in the City of Ventura’s Residential Food Waste Recycling Program! Free compost pails are available for Ventura residents at 336 Sanjon Road, Monday to Friday from 8:00 am -5:00 pm (closed alternating Fridays). Simply line the pail with any type of bag (plastic is ok!), tie it up, and toss it in your tan yard waste or designated food waste cart. www.cityofventura.ca.gov/264/Residential-Services
The city is actively rolling out the program to multi-family units across Ventura. If you’re an apartment dweller and don’t yet have a yard or food waste cart at your complex, join the Ventura Compost Co-op to compost your food scraps! www.cityofventura.ca.gov/2195/Ventura-Compost-Co-Op
Questions about the programs? Contact the City’s Environmental Sustainability Division at [email protected].
