To trim down on all that waste - and save you time, money, and stress during this busy time of year - the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) offers some simple tips for "greening" the holiday season:

• Take public transportation, carpool with others, or walk when you go shopping or to holiday parties. You'll save on gas and reduce air pollution.
  
  
• Send your holiday greetings in electronic form. E-cards can be more fun than regular greeting cards, since they can be enhanced with sound and animation, and they create no physical waste.
  
  
• Reduce waste by giving tickets to a game, movie or play, or a gift certificate for a personal service.
  
  
• Choose decorative boxes, gift bags, and tins that can be reused, instead of disposable wrapping paper.
  
  
• Save polystyrene "peanuts" and bubble wrap for shipping gifts next year, or for packing the next item you sell on your favorite auction Web site.
  
  
• Buy rechargeable batteries to go with new electronic toys. Many stores have drop-off bins for the safe recycling of old batteries.
  
  
• Recycle as much as possible. Most communities provide for recycling of common items like paper, cans, bottles, and cardboard. Don't forget to recycle aluminum foil, which is used so much at this time of year. Just ball it up and toss it in your recycle bin.
  
  
• As you make room for new holiday treasures, consider donating unwanted toys, electronics, and clothing to charity instead of throwing them away.
  
  
• Tree-cycle after the holidays. More than 200 Massachusetts towns and cities provide for the collection of cut Christmas trees, which are then recycled into compost or mulch.

Learn more about buying green, reducing holiday waste, recycling, and tree-cycling in your community by visiting Earth 911 or MassDEP's Recycling Home Page.