Think outside the roll

Are you one who dives into a present ripping the wrapping to shreds? Or do you gingerly peel off the cellophane tape trying to preserve as much of the wrapping as possible? According to the Clean Air Council, an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated in the U.S. during the time between Thanksgiving and the end of December. 4 million tons of that is wrapping paper and shopping bags. That's about 800 million pounds of waste generated during only one month of the year. Besides reusing gift bags and ribbons, here are some other ideas to help you be eco-conscious and creative with your gift giving.

• Make part of your gift the wrapping by using a tea towel to wrap a mug or other kitchen items.
• Wrap up gifts for gals with a festive scarf.
• Use a colorful bandanna or a fun stocking hat for a hard to wrap item or gift cards.
• Re-usable totes are everywhere so grab one at the checkout and make it the gift bag.
• Use newspaper, catalog or magazine pages or take-out menus as wrapping.

Just look around your office or home and you'll be surprised what you can find to re-use or re-purpose to reduce some of that 800 million tons of waste this month.