With the holiday season upon us, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is encouraging Texans to do their part to ensure family celebrations and gift-giving are safe, happy, and environmentally conscious.

Here are some simple steps that will help reduce waste, conserve water and energy, and help you Take Care of Texas during the holiday season.

HOLIDAY PARTY GUIDE

• When preparing food, compost leftover food scraps (other than meat and dairy).
• Place left-over oil and grease in the garbage; never pour them down the drain.
• Turn down the heat before guests arrive. You'll save energy and the extra body heat warms up the room.
• Walk to neighborhood parties or carpool with friends and family.
• Use cloth napkins and reusable dishes, glasses, and silverware.
• After the party, don't throw away the leftovers. Put them in reusable containers and send them home with guests or donate them to a local meal kitchen.

SHOPPING AND GIFT GIVING

• Plan your shopping in advance. Combining your shopping trips saves fuel and reduces emissions.
• Take reusable cloth bags for holiday gift-shopping.
• Tell store clerks you don't need a bag for small or oversized purchases.
• Consider the durability of a product before you buy it as a gift. Cheaper, less durable items often wear out quickly, creating waste and costing you money.
• Use your own camera instead of a disposable one to reduce waste while capturing holiday memories. Better yet, buy a digital camera, so that you don't have to use film at all and only print the pictures you want to keep.

WRAPPING PAPER, GIFT BAGS, AND CARDS

• Wrap gifts in recycled or reused paper or gift bags.
• Remember to save or recycle used wrapping paper and gift bags.
• Give gifts that don't require much packaging, such as concert tickets, gasoline cards, gift cards, or gift certificates.
• Send recycled-content greeting cards to reduce the amount of virgin paper used during the holidays.
• To reduce paper waste, send electronic greeting cards.

BATTERIES AND ELECTRICITY

• According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about 40 percent of all battery sales occur during the holiday season, and many of those batteries end up in landfills. Buy rechargeable batteries to accompany your electronic gifts, and consider giving a battery charger as well.
• Incredibly efficient strings of LED holiday lights are now available at most large retailers. These lights use only 0.04 watts per bulb, one-tenth the energy of standard mini-lights and 11/100th the energy of C-7, four-watt bulbs and could save you $30 on your electric bill over the holiday season.
• Turn off or unplug holiday lights during the day and when you go to bed, or set all your lights on timers. Doing so will not only save energy, but will also help your lights last longer.
• Save energy while you're away for the holidays by leaving your home thermostat turned down.

TREES

• The EPA reports that approximately 33 million non-artificial Christmas trees are sold in North America every year. After the holidays, look for ways to recycle your tree and use the mulch for your own yard. Check with your community solid waste department and find out if it collects and mulches trees.
• To help prevent waste created by cutting down and disposing of live trees, consider buying a potted tree and planting it after the holidays.

Make your number one resolution in 2008 to Take Care of Texas. To find additional tips to help you save money and the environment all year long, visit TakeCareofTexas.org