Overview

• Washtenaw County’s most recent Materials Management Plan reports that, in 2023, the county diverted ~65% of residential waste from landfills via recycling, composting, reuse, and other means—well above the national average of ~50%. Sustainable gifting that prioritizes reuse and borrowing helps the county move closer to its goal of diverting 75% by 2030. (Source: Washtenaw County)

• The A2ZERO Plan for Ann Arbor identifies “Strategy 6: Change the way we use, reuse, and dispose of materials,” stating that materials management accounts for approximately 22% of the city’s community greenhouse-gas emissions—meaning lower-material gifts can make an outsized difference in meeting the city’s 2030 carbon-neutrality target. (Source: City of Ann Arbor)

• The Ann Arbor District Library’s “Unusual Items” collection offers more than 1,800 catalogued items—including telescopes, cake pans, sewing kits, and tools—that community members can borrow instead of buy. Gifting access to one of these items avoids the environmental impact of manufacturing and packaging a new item—estimated at 2.1 kg CO₂e per kg of consumer product according to U.S. EPA lifecycle data. (Source: AADL; U.S. EPA)

• The Recycle Ann Arbor Reuse Center reports that in the 2022-23 holiday season it reused over 58,000 pounds of furniture, housewares, toys, and décor through its “Holiday Shoppe,” diverting materials that otherwise might have been landfilled. Choosing reused gifts from the center supports the county’s circular economy and aligns with reuse-first priorities. (Source: Recycle Ann Arbor)

• Food Gatherers in Washtenaw County rescued more than 2.3 million pounds of surplus, edible food in the past year; many holiday meals still result in 20-40% edible-food waste at the household level. Using the NRDC “Guest-imator” to plan portion sizes and donating leftovers reduces methane emissions from landfills and supports local hunger-relief efforts. (Source: Food Gatherers; NRDC)

Transcription

David Fair: The holiday shopping season is officially underway! I’m David Fair, and welcome to another edition of 89.1 WEMU’s Issues of the Environment. Big box and online retailers are going to do gangbuster business. Hopefully, a lot of folks will also think local first and hit up the merchants in our community and sustain a vibrant business community. There are also ways to think more sustainably when buying or making presents for your friends and family. And that’s our focus today. Our guest is Samuel McMullen. Samuel is co-founder and executive director of Ann Arbor-based Zerowaste.org. Life is about choices, and we want to add to your choices. Welcome back to WEMU, Samuel! I appreciate your time!

Samuel McMullen: Thanks for having me! I’m happy to be here!

David Fair: I don’t know numbers, but I do have to assume the holiday season through December generates more waste than any other month of the year. Am I close?

Samuel McMullen: You are close. The exact waste numbers are debated, but the impact of it is undeniable. So, all of the presents that we get during this season, they end up actually being spread out throughout the year in terms of waste numbers. But if you look at the input, we’re about to spend for the first year in the US $1 trillion on retail according to the National Retail Federation.

David Fair: That’s huge!

Samuel McMullen: It’s a big deal!

David Fair: When we look at how much waste we’re land filling on an annual basis, Washtenaw County, in 2023, was able to divert about 65% through recycling, reuse, composting, and other measures. That’s about 15% better than the national average. Now the goal in Washtenaw County is to achieve 75% diversion rates by 2030. Do you think that’s doable based on what you see today?

Samuel McMullen: Yeah, it’s absolutely doable! I think, for us, the important focus is always upstream. So, it is very impactful to divert waste from landfill. But usually, just depending on the material, it’s about ten times more impactful to reduce the waste that you’re producing in the first place. So always, the question: Is there an alternative that doesn’t require the material extraction, manufacture, shipping, packaging, all that kind of stuff? Can I find another way to meet this need? So, that’s been our focus.

David Fair: In Ann Arbor, the city has an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, and part of the strategy is exactly what you’re talking about: changing the manner in which we use, reuse, and dispose of materials and create materials upstream. What role does material management actually play in achieving carbon neutrality and a more sustainable environment?

Samuel McMullen: The devil’s in the details as always. But on the biggest picture, a huge portion, in a city like Ann Arbor of our total environmental footprint, comes from what the goods that we import. So, the EPA looked at a number of the environmental calculations for a number of states. And when they counted what the states were importing and what they were exporting, their total emissions actually went up by about 50%. So, it’s often hidden in the numbers. But if you can thinking about the material use and the material demands that you’re putting on the system at large ends up painting a different environmental picture than we might otherwise understand.

David Fair: Our conversation with Samuel McMullen continues. Samuel is Zerowaste.org co-founder and executive director and our guest on WEMU’s Issues of the Environment. So, let’s bring it directly to the holiday season, Samuel. Now, Hanukkah gets underway on the 13th. Of course, Christmas is right around the corner from there. Market analysts predict a relatively sharp increase in consumer spending this year, and that means a lot of trash. Product packaging, as you’ve pointed out, is a particularly concerning issue. For those who will do their shopping in very traditional ways, Amazon and the big box retail stores, are there choices we can make through those avenues and still minimize impact?

Samuel McMullen: Yeah, 100%! I mean, I think the positive spin on what will be a $1 trillion year in in retail spending is that people really love each other. Like, that’s a beautiful representation of people sharing gladness to be together, beautiful gestures with each other. On the flip side, of course, it’s a huge triumph of consumer marketing at the expense of people and at the expense of the planet. And a lot of people will go into debt. About 31% of people have debt from last year’s holiday spending. So, it’s important to figure out like you’re asking these ways of of reducing that burden. And I think if you’re going through the traditional channels and you’re just looking for a one-to-one swap and figuring out “Can I get a higher quality but a lower quantity of gifts for the people in my life?” that’s a great way to start because those gifts that you get that will last for a longer time and won’t end up in the landfill within the next couple months, those will continue to meet a need throughout the year, rather than just ending up in the landfill.

David Fair: So, I think your experience can benefit all of us and give us some ideas. Where do you go when you want to make your gift purchases during the holiday season and for birthdays and occasions throughout the year? Where do you find that you can find a sustainable gift giving process?

Samuel McMullen: Oh, that’s a great question! The first choice always is time together. So, figuring out “Can I get this person an experience?” Groupon’s a good spot for that. Buying them a gift card to a restaurant or finding a concert that I want to go to together with that person. That’s always number one–zero material cost. It’s a much more emotionally fulfilling way to go. Then, of course, the second choice is, “How do we find second hand,” or “Can I make this person something by hand? Can I get it at a local craft fair?” The Farmers Market on Sunday in Ann Arbor turns into a craft fair. That’s a great place to find neat little little gifts that you wouldn’t find on Amazon or at Walmart. And then always looking for, in that secondhand and handmade, looking for things that will stand the test of time. That’s my go-to.

David Fair: And when you do that, everybody likes pretty packages. How do you package them in a manner that is more sustainable than traditional gift wraps?

Samuel McMullen:The best thing you can do is go to your waste stream, so your recycling or maybe it’s a Trader Joe’s bag or a newspaper or something that you already have and wrap creatively with what you have on hand. Cloth often makes really good wrapping paper or reused wrapping paper from other years or bags, for instance. And then, sometimes, I will wrap one gift in another gift. So, you might have thrifted a t-shirt or thrifted a scarf that you liked, and you thought this person might like it. And you can use that to wrap the gift, so that they’re sort of getting a two-in-one. That’s always a fun alternative.

David Fair: Once again, this is 89.1 WEMU’s Issues of the Environment. And today, we’re talking with the co-founder and executive director of Zerowaste.org, Samuel McMullen. You’ve mentioned that you will often make your own gifts. Is it important when making these gifts that we choose particular materials to lessen our waste or carbon footprint?

Samuel McMullen: It is. So, for instance, SCRAP Creative Reuse is a great place to get craft materials that have been upcycled. But just so much more than the specific materials you use, the fact the quantity of gifts you’re giving and how you’re sourcing those materials is going be much more important. There’s a fascinating French study that estimated the carbon footprint of the holidays and gifts came out on top number one by a mile with 57% of the carbon impact. So, just turning your mind to how can I have the emotional impact that I want to have, the beautiful message that I want to send to the people in my lives without the negative environmental and financial impacts, that’ll be the biggest decision you make. So, if you’re handmaking a gift, make it out of whatever you can, and that’ll be so special. And if it’s reused and repurposed and you got it from SCRAP, all the better.

David Fair: I have the sneaking suspicion I know for certain that attitude and behavior are inextricably tied together. But does fear play a role in our gift giving habits? Do we fear a poor reaction by offering a gently-used or homemade gift?

Samuel McMullen: Yeah, I think 100%. The norms are sort of a game of chicken. And something that I found really surprising and comforting was that, in looking through the annual holiday reports, it turns out that about two-thirds of people want family traditions to be less focused on gifts. But it’s hard to know if you’re in that family situation is the other person going to worry about this? Is this going to come across as if I haven’t tried hard enough? You know, an easy way to communicate that is spending money. And I think just taking comfort in the fact that most people actually want traditions to be less focused on gifts. You can communicate your adoration for the people in your lives through cards and through handmade gifts. And that, oftentimes, is a much more unique and meaningful gift if it’s been thought through handmade or it’s an experience. Those are often much less forgettable and more meaningful gifts to the people in your life.

David Fair: Well, a big part of tradition is getting together for big meals, and food waste is a huge problem. How do you go about minimizing our impact on that front?

Samuel McMullen: Yeah, that’s another family tradition that is both treasured and wonderful and also has a has a tremendous environmental and financial impact. So, figuring out a plan for leftovers is task number one: freezing stuff as soon as you can, sending people home with leftovers, and then, of course, if you can figure out to a better degree how many people will be coming, you can make better estimates. So, there’s a tool online that’s called the “Guest-imator,” and that can help you figure out your portions based on how many people you’re expecting. So, figuring out your input side and how can I reduce a little bit the amount of food that I’m purchasing that will end up going bad in my fridge is an important factor as well.

David Fair: I was going to say. Our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs, aren’t they?

Samuel McMullen: Of course.

David Fair: Well, Samuel, thank you for the tips and the information. And a happy holiday season to you and yours!

Samuel McMullen: Thank you so much! I’m happy to be here!

David Fair: That is Samuel McMullen, co-founder and executive director of the Ann Arbor-based nonprofit Zerowaste.org. For more information on the work of the organization and how you can contribute to greater sustainability, stop by our website at WEMU.org. Issues of the Environment is produced with support from the office of the Washtonall County Water Resources Commissioner. We bring it to you every Wednesday. I’m David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.

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