No matter the size of your holiday gatherings this year, you’ll probably be going through a lot of paper products and plastic. As presents and letters make their way to family and friends via mail and package delivery, it’s time to make a plan on how to keep your holidays sustainable and recycle packaging waste the right way.

If you’re mailing out Christmas cards or wrapping up presents to ship across the country, consider the materials used to wrap your gifts, construct your Christmas cards, and keep your holiday gifts safe on their journey to your loved ones.

One-hundred companies are responsible for more than 90 percent of all global plastic waste, according to new research from The Plastic Waste Makers index. And twenty of those companies are responsible for a whopping 55 percent of the world’s plastic waste. 

All change starts small and has the potential to ripple into a much larger movement. While large issues like climate change and plastic pollution require large solutions, starting small and locally can inspire the big waves needed to save the planet. This is precisely what happened with a group of five middle schoolers in 2015. 

You may have noticed that quarantine-cuisine and to-go coffee orders come with a lot of plastic utensils, single-use straws, and styrofoam containers. What were once sustainability sins are now quarantine commonplace as we navigate the realities of COVID-19. 

Efforts to reduce plastic consumption do not need to go out the window. There are still plenty of things you can do to reduce your own plastic intake and spread the socially-distant word to your friends and family. Here are a few ideas to get you started. 

Hidden behind the dense curtain of the ocean water and singing an eerie song of their own, whales are the gentle giants of the deepest depths. Whales are built similarly to the Hippopotamus and are warm-blooded with a layer of blubber to help insulate and moderate body temperature. Large flippers allow them to navigate the ocean currents, and their blowholes on the top of their head allow a quick breath before diving again. Some whales can hold their breath for up to 90 minutes.