• Gift Experiences: You can surprise them with tickets to a concert, play or local event, pamper them with a spa day, or ignite their culinary passion with a cooking class. Alternatively, plan a special day and create a playful itinerary, complete with custom a flyer or program.  
• Make Your Own: Consider the thoughtful charm of handcrafted candles or soaps, a knitted scarf or hat, jars of homemade preserves, or baked goods given in a glass container they will continue to use. To add a personal touch, craft cards from scrap paper, making your gifts feel extra special.  
• Eco-friendly Subscriptions: Gift a subscription to their favorite online publication or streaming service for a year.  
• Shop Local: The Made-In-Baltimore store is filled with locally crafted treasures that carry a touch of Baltimore's charm, making it the perfect destination for finding a unique gift. 
• Plants: Consider gifting houseplants or even cuttings from your own plants for a green-thump enthusiast. A thoughtful gift card to their favorite local nursery will provide opportunities to nurture their passion for gardening.  
• Reusable Items: Consider a stainless-steel water bottle or hot beverage travel mug to keep drinks piping hot. You can create a ‘Sustainable Grocery Shopping or Food Storage Kit’, fill a reuseable bag with mesh produce bags, reuseable snack bags, glass food storage containers, beeswax wrap or silicone bowl covers. Add in cloth napkins, made from scrap fabric, for an extra special touch.  

• Secondhand and Vintage: Exploring secondhand and vintage stores is a fantastic way to discover one-of-a-kind treasures that contribute to reducing waste and promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle.  
• Recycled or Reuseable Gift Wrapping: Elevate your gift giving by making the wrapping part of the present itself, like a tote bag or a kitchen towel. Embrace sustainability by using scrap fabric or newspaper for wrapping, crafting your own gift tags from scrap paper, and adding a touch of nature’s beauty with pinecones and holly.  

Remember, the key to a zero-waste holiday is thoughtfulness and intention. By choosing eco-conscious gifts and sustainable practices, you can reduce waste and make your holiday season truly special for both the recipient and the planet. 

Happy Reading, 

Office of Waste Diversion  

In response to these findings, the EPA has taken significant steps to reinvigorate its approach to food waste management through the introduction of the "Wasted Food Scale”. This innovative model, a much-needed update from its '90s predecessor, places a strong focus on preventing food waste and diverting it from the landfill. The scale thoughtfully arranges options from the most preferred on the left to the least preferred on the right, with methods such as food waste prevention, donation, and upcycling and animal feeding taking the top ranks. These approaches not only contribute to a circular economy but also yield positive environmental impacts. 

Here in our own community, DPW is actively involved in the movement to reduce food waste and divert it from landfills. We offer convenient food scrap collection at our five Residential Drop-off Sites and two local farmers' markets. Moreover, we've recently expanded our food scrap collection sites to include local universities, making it even more accessible for everyone to participate in this sustainable initiative.  

Locations and times for university-based food scrap collection: 

• Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus – Behind Mudd Hall  
  • Tuesdays, 8:30-11:30 a.m. 

• Johns Hopkins Hospital Farmers Market - 1651 E. Jefferson St. 
  • Thursdays, 10 a.m. -2 p.m. 

• The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) 
  • Campus Center - 621 W Lombard St.  
    • Thursdays 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. 
  • Community Engagement Center - 16 S Poppleton St.  
    • Wednesdays, 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. 

• Loyola University – 5104 York Road 
  • Govans Farmers Market  
    • Wednesday's June – September 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. 
  • Access any time via Loyola issued code.