Away in a Trash Bin

GETTY IMAGES
The ice around the North Pole reached a critically low level in September 2005.

I feel good this year about finishing up my Christmas shopping. Now I will grab a few minutes to wrap, although an article in the Toronto Star yesterday made me think twice about this practice.

At the risk of seeming like a Grinch here is a portion of the piece and the link.

Away in a trash bin http://www.thestar.com/article/162708

Envision Christmas morning, after all the hullabaloo, the pretty wrapping paper and bubble wrap and Scotch tape sitting in the middle of the living room.

According to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Ontarians throw away 900,000 extra tonnes of garbage during the holidays, including 288 million Christmas cards and 23 square kilometres of wrapping paper – enough to cover 3,000 football fields. We throw away 900 tonnes of aluminium foil and about 35,000 tonnes of plastic packaging.

Yikes. I regularly preach and reflect on caring for God's good earth, yet I know that too often I am part of the problem rather than the solution. Every day poses it choices and challenges, including our celebrations.

All cultures have their feast days and holy times, and we need to be joyful at the prospect of Christ's birth. But it was a simple, low-tech, and recyclable event, which we can honour by our own practices.