SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — The holidays bring a lot of mess and a lot of waste, but there are small things or even big things—you can do to cut back on that waste.
I spoke with Laura Marston, the founder of GoGo Refill, a shop in South Portland that sells sustainable and local products, and just like the name suggests; it refills your containers of anything from laundry soap to makeup.
We first met Marston four years ago when she started her business, and since its opening, she says they've been able to keep 200,000 pounds of plastics out of Maine's landfills with their reusing and refilling. She came to our studio with a few tips on hosting and gifting more sustainably.
"Between the weeks of Thanksgiving and the new year, Americans produced 25% more waste than the rest of the year. All of that combined means 1,000,000 tons of waste extra, every single one of those weeks," Marston said. "Which means anything you do to cut back on that waste can certainly help."
Decorations
Marston claims not to be a creative person, which means making homemade decorations shouldn't be too difficult for you either. She quickly put together an orange and pinecone garland.
"The cost is one orange and a piece of string," Marston said. "You simply slice up your oranges, dry them in your oven low and slow, and then string them. You can make a garland with the oranges, you can make ornaments for your tree, and lots of other fun things, and it's very very easy."
Gift-giving
Marston suggested finding things to gift that not only save the planet in more compostable packaging but also save your recipient some money. Her examples include reusable paper towels and a Veggie Saver bag.
"This is my personal favorite," Marston said. "You use this to store your vegetables in the refrigerator. They make your veggies last so much longer. You’re cutting down your food waste and saving your money."
She also shared a few stocking stuffers that come from local vendors, including a fraser-scented candle from Near and Native in Westbrook, and skin care made with clean ingredients in Bath—all refillable in her stores in South Portland and Brunswick.
Marston also suggested a wooden toothbrush, instead of the plastic ones you often find in your stocking. "Every toothbrush ever made is still on the planet today, every plastic one. So this one will not outlast you," Marston said you just pull the bristles out or cut off the top and toss the wooden piece into your compost pile.
Gift wrapping
As for wrapping those gifts, you can use brown paper (she happened to have some at home) and draw your own Christmas colors and decorations on it, or tie one of those dried oranges to it, or maybe a piece of a tree or a pinecone to make it a little more festive.
"I know I have a bag of reusable bags that’s in the closet. I shop that first before needing to buy any sort of wrapping material," Marston said.
You can also buy reusable cloth material for gifts. The one she brought in came with a button and string to wrap around it.
"So when you give this to someone, it’s also kind of part of the gift; then they can use this to wrap a gift and they can pass it onto the next," Marston said.
She also encouraged people to use fabric lying around their houses and to look up furoshiki—a Japanese art form of wrapping.
Hosting a party
"Plastic forks, knives, and spoons, they always end up in the waste stream and a lot of times they end up as litter. One thing you can do if you don’t have enough plates, glasses, or cutlery is you can rent it. You can borrow from a friend or neighbor, we can ask people to bring their own," Marston said. "In fact, make a game out of it by asking people to bring their tackiest cup for the party, then hold a contest over who has the best."
"I think just looking at what you have first before going out to buy is important and you can have fun and be creative with it and you know—not add as much to the waste stream," Marston said.
RELATED: Pollute less, profit more: How Maine industry is rewarded for cutting down emissions and wastewater