7 Ways to Celebrate an Eco-Friendly Thanksgiving

Small Changes Make Large Impacts

Your power is very real! When we make small changes to reduce, reuse and recycle, together we make a greater impact on reducing the litter in our streets, plastic waste in our waterways, and making our communities more beautiful.

Nearly 90,000 people across America have taken the Keep America Beautiful® #BeRecycled pledge and they are taking steps to make their Thanksgiving greener. Here are a few eco-friendly Thanksgiving tips to add sustainability to your holiday:

• Go natural. Decorate with nature. Bring pine branches, pinecones, acorns, and colorful leaves into your home. It will add fragrant beauty to your table. And after the holiday, these decorations can all be returned to nature. 
   
• Shop locally. Try shopping at a farmer's market near you. Local foods require fewer greenhouse gases to get to you, and are usually grown on smaller farms using more sustainable practices.
   
• Reduce food waste. Tons of food will be scraped into the garbage this Thanksgiving. Start with smaller portions to reduce this waste.  
   
• Repurpose. One of the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner is the leftovers. Store in reusable containers with reusable lids, and try making a delicious stock for soups, chilis and stews with what is left of the turkey. 
   
• Recycle. The aluminum trays used for baking the turkey (if you use one) are recyclable. Cleaning these pans can be a bit of a chore, but it’s a big piece of aluminum worth recycling.