The Environmental Impact of New Year’s Eve: Just How Much Waste does it Create?
It seems I’ve done it all: Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, Valentine’s Day, and even Birthdays but I have yet to talk about how wasteful New Year’s Eve is. That changes today. It was actually the environmental impact of the Fourth of July and fireworks as a whole that inspired this. While we use the most fireworks in the US for the fourth of July, worldwide, it’s NYE.
So, let’s dive in shall we? Let’s discuss the environmental impact of NYE as well as how to make it less impactful and more eco-friendly.
Image from Squarespace
Fireworks
Of course, we have to start with fireworks. Now, we’re not going to dive into it as far as we did for the Fourth of July (you can read that post here or watch the video here) since we have more to touch on. But here’s the short version: fireworks are one of the worst things we do for the environment as individuals.
First, they cause air pollution caused by particulate matter which is a solid and liquid substance found in the air and is deemed the most toxic air pollutant due to the way it affects our lungs and hearts as well as the environment. Not only this, but fireworks also release harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and nitric oxide which are toxic to inhale and can inhibit the transport of oxygen throughout one’s body. Not just animals but plants, too.
They also lead to water and soil pollution. The best-known (perhaps worst-known) chemical compound in fireworks is Perchlorate. It’s added to fireworks to make them shoot upwards. It can affect the thyroid gland when consumed in large amounts but can also leech into our soil and groundwater. Not to mention physical pollution in the form of confetti, other plastic and paper particles, and particulate matter as well.
And noise and light pollution which is not only harmful to humans but can literally change the migration times and patterns of wildlife. It can also lead to lost pets and wildlife may abandon their homes due to it feeling unsafe.
Image from Storyblocks
What can we do instead?
Pyrotechnic displays that are at a lower altitude, are quieter, and produce less pollution have been tested in Canada
Italy is testing silent fireworks which are colorful and illuminated displays, just soundless (I’m not sure what the pollution levels of this one are)
Once you’ve probably heard of and is quite the popular option these days is a drone display. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics tried this out in lieu of fireworks.
Laser displays are all the fun and lights without the pollution
Image from Storyblocks
Overconsuming decorations
Every single year, people feel the need to buy new decorations. After all, it has last year’s date on it, it needs to be updated for this year’s date, right? Nope, at least, I encourage you to not do this. Instead, if you decorate, get timeless decorations with “Happy New Year” on them sans date. This way you can use them year after year.
Confetti
It’s a popular way to ring in the new year! In fact, New York City alone with their Time’s Square ball drop produces 1.5 tons or 3,300 pounds of confetti waste. Just confetti. Of course, we can’t do much about this one party on our own (unless maybe the Governor is reading?) but what we can do instead is to not use confetti at our own parties. If you want to use confetti, choose paper. It can be recycled or composted and if it ends up in nature it will actually break down. Please avoid plastic confetti. If you can, ditch it altogether. It’s fun for a few seconds but it’s a pain to clean up and gets instantly wasted.
Image from Storyblocks
Travel
Again, this is just for the NYC party alone, around 1 million people go to NYC every year for the ball drop. That’s a lot of airfare! I’m sure many of us travel during the holidays, in fact, I wrote this in advance cause I’m in Florida during NYE this year. But, let’s think about how to travel more sustainably.
You can watch this full video on zero-waste travel here, but here are some main points to consider:
Choosing a mode of transportation: drive, take a train, or carpool vs fly if possible. You can even do what we’re doing on our Florida trip and rent a less wasteful car! We only own one vehicle, a truck that only gets 20 MPG (we live in an RV so we need a truck) but we’re not taking the RV to FL, so, we’re renting a hybrid to reduce our emissions from driving!
Pack light: it’s not the biggest difference in the world, but every pound matters when flying. The heavier the plane, the more fuel is used.
Bring your zero-waste essentials: your reusable water bottle, reusable utensils, and reusable coffee cup can help you reduce a lot of single-use waste while traveling
Ditch the disposables
Yes, I’m talking about disposables such as paper plates, plastic cutlery, and so forth (learn more about how to throw a zero-waste party in this post or this video) but I also mean disposable decorations. When it comes to the kitchen, use reusables where possible if you have the ability to wash dishes and your crowd isn’t all that big. You can even thrift a few extra reusable plates and cutlery for quite cheap. If your party is going to be quite big, opt for paper or bioplastic instead of plastic. My favorite brand is Repurpose.
But, I also mean party favors, noise makers, streamers, balloons, and so forth. We already talked about how you should ditch the items branded for this year’s celebrations, but try to avoid all disposables if possible. Cut them out cold turkey, or opt for paper and bioplastic instead of plastic. Better yet, reuse what you already have. Just because something is designed to be disposable doesn’t mean you can’t reuse it.
You can even make your own noisemakers with upcycled toilet paper tubes and things like coins, beans, or beads.
Food and Drink
Again, I cover this heavily in the “How to throw a low waste party” post/video, but in short, be mindful of the waste you create in the kitchen for your NYE party. When it comes to food, try making some stuff from scratch to avoid buying lots of packaged foods. You could even make it a potluck so that everyone just has to make 1-2 things versus the host making a lot of stuff. Alternatively, choose packaged foods in as little packaging as possible such as one large bag of chips versus lots of small snack-sized bags.
As for drinks, this is the main event for a lot of NYE parties. So, let’s make it plastic-free! Choose drinks in cans or even plastic bottles over plastic pouches or other hard-to-recycle containers. Metal is the most recyclable, so choose that over plastic if possible. When it comes to making mixed drinks at home, opt for glass or metal cups versus disposable solo cups (or other non-recyclable cups). This could look like upcycling jars, thrifting fun drink glasses, or even trying out Ball’s reusable metal drink cups that are dishwasher safe.
Fashion
There are always new trends and articles that come out suggesting the hot new outfit everyone should buy for their NYE party. This can get expensive and wasteful AND you’re going to look like everyone else. Instead, thrift your NYE outfit or wear what you wore last year. You could even trade outfits amongst friends or attend/host a clothing swap to get something new to you. If you like following trends, take those trending items in a list to the thrift store and work from there. This can save you so much money and waste. Learn more about the importance of shopping second-hand here.
Clean up after yourself!
If you attend a large event like the NYC NYE party or otherwise, clean up after yourself (and bring your reusables!). In NYC alone, this usually amounts to over 50 tons (yes, you read that right) of waste left behind in the form of drinks, party favors, and other waste. Imagine if everyone who attended just held onto their belongings and trash until they found a trash can or went home/to their hotel for the evening? Yes, that waste would still be created but it wouldn’t become litter.
Better yet, imagine if everyone who attended brought their reusable water bottles and didn’t buy into the wasteful gimmicks of the night such as the year glasses and noisemakers?
Make your New Year’s Resolution an eco one!
Now that your last day of 2023 is going to be eco, let’s all strive to make 2024 our most eco year yet! Let’s set goals to reduce our waste and keep doing what we’re doing. You can check out my Eco Resolutions of years past here and stay tuned for the next post which is this year’s eco-friendly New Year’s resolutions:
Eco-friendly New Year’s Resolutions for 2023
One example is to volunteer!
I hope this helps you to have a more eco-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration and a more eco 2024. Stay tuned for my eco resolutions coming soon and let us know below how you’re going to have a zero-waste NYE
As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
