Besides the Grinch and Scrooge, who doesn’t love the winter holidays? From the delicious smells of favorite foods to families creating happy memories that last a lifetime, the holidays and their traditions hold a special place in our hearts. Plus, there are also opportunities to make new, eco-friendly holiday traditions—something we can all get behind. 

How can we do this, exactly? Start by incorporating eco-friendly holiday decorations with cherished heirlooms. Your house will become warm and festive while being an endearing symbol of festive environmental protection.

One of Texas Recycling’s favorite annual events to recycle paper, cardboard, metal, and more is happening: Texas Recycles Day is November 15, 2024. This special day coincides with America Recycles Day, a nationally recognized day overseen by Keep America Beautiful dedicated to recycling and recycling education. Of course, everything is bigger in the Lone Star State. Texas Recycles Day, overseen by the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR), was established in 1994. But many people may not realize that it was used as the model for the national day, which was first observed in 1997.

So much of our activity is online nowadays. We receive bills, advertisements, coupons, and other content via email constantly. There are also countless pop-up ads, social media advertisements in our regular news feeds, and more. That said, we still get plenty of tangible direct mail in our mailboxes. It could be a card, letter, or something special, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas cards, family letters, photo cards, gifts from grandma, etc. On the flip side, there’s also unsolicited direct mail—some of which we toss in the nearest trash bin. While this is a common practice shared by many, the reality is that those items fill our landfills and use valuable resources. This begs the question: How can we reduce the amount of mail that comes to this sad demise through paper recycling?