How to explain going zero waste to your family and other tips this holiday season

The Christmas holidays can be the season of excess and waste, but some families have found a way to get by with less as part of their commitment to live a zero-waste lifestyle.

CBC News asked for tips fromB.C. families who have reduced the amount of waste they produce over the holidays through some hard decisions. One potentially fraughttopic:how to raise the issuewith family members who are happy with the status quo.

"Well frankly I would say, it's never been easier to have these conversations," said Tara Moreau, a married mother of two daughters whose family lives in Vancouver without a car.

Zero waste is a philosophy and lifestyle that promotes consuming lessto reduce the amount ofwaste sent to landfill sites.

Moreau also runs sustainability and community programs at the University of British ColumbiaBotanical Garden. She saidnews about the warming planet due to climate change, plastic waste in oceans and rallies attended by hundreds of thousands of people have helpedspread awareness about the benefits of reducing waste.

Zero-waste has come to prominence in recent years as cities, businesses and residents consider the negative environmental impacts of disposing of consumers items, clothing, single-use plastics items and even food in landfills.

• I'm dreaming of a low-waste Christmas, but my family doesn't get it

MoreausaidChristmas can be a difficult time to buck traditions.

'Tension'

"I think it's difficult when we live in a bit of a consumer culture." she said. "There's these conflicting messages between what we're sort of marketed and kind of sold on, but then at the same time this year, we know that we are in a climate emergency so there's this tension."

When asked by family members what you want for Christmas, Moreau says you could reply that you are challenging yourself to reduce waste in the coming year, and a gift like reusable containers or bags would be appropriate.

She also saysasking for help in reducing waste is an invitation to discuss the topic.

"I've tried to not be one to sort of throw it down peoples' throats. I don't always think that's the way to do it," she said,

Zero-waste honesty

Vancouver couple Oliver Giving and Elisabeth Ormandy came to prominence lastsummer after they celebrated creating just four bags of garbage over a three-year period. In 2018, they stopped giving Christmas gifts to each other and extended family.

For Christmas,the couple only gives their parents gifts. Theydon'tdecorate their hometo reduce waste and to avoid the stress they feel the season brings.

"It was honestly an easy decision," Giving wrote in an email. "There is already so much happening in December ... that gifting just adds to the pile of too many to-dos."

The couple also realized most gifts they've received over the years were often discarded.

"It's okay to set boundaries and communicate that you will no longer be giving gifts at Christmas and that you hope others will do the same," Giving wrote.

He said it can be tough to be honest with family members. Offering alternatives can be a compromise, he said, such as placing a money limit on gifts or giving a loved one an experience in lieu ofa physical presentsuch as a concert ticket.

This is Moreau's approach too. She tries to create gifts, rather than giveconsumer items.

The giving-an-experience approach is something thatMetro Vancouver has promoted for a decade through its Create Memories, Not Garbage campaign.

As for 2020, the zero-wasters have new goals.Moreau hopes to only buy second-hand clothingwhile Giving and Ormandy want to research co-housing as a way to reduce their carbon footprint.