Recycle Day 1, 2015, or why is Easter not green?

At the risk of repeating myself, I've said this before: for being so green, Easter isn't really green at all.  Now I realize I should be sharing this post for Second on the 2nd, but I only had one photo and you couldn't really make it out.  So, please put up with my antics while I share my thoughts with you.

What do I mean by Easter not being green?  Easter celebrates a rebirth, time for renewal, time for spring. It often occurs around the time we celebrate Earth Day, too. So why is it, you ask, that it’s one of the most UN-green holidays ever? Plastic, plastic, plastic.

In case you’ve never celebrated an Earth Day, or have never heard about recycling, plastic is a petroleum product. It lives simply forever in the landfill. On a larger scale, it’s the material that wars have been fought over, especially those in my lifetime. 

Supplies: Plastic Easter Eggs and Napkins

Plastic has taken over the Easter industry. There’s probably more plastic sold, then disposed of at Easter than at Christmastime, although I have no statistics to support that. Granted, even though I don’t have kids, I can see what is being sold in the stores: plastic baskets wrapped in cellophane or plastic, loaded with plastic eggs and individual chocolate bunnies wrapped in hard plastic, sitting atop plastic grass in various colors.  Even Peeps, those disgusting marshmallow confectioneries sold in the United States and Canada, shaped like chickens and bunnies, come wrapped in plastic.

Am I a cynic? No. I love Easter. It even lands on my birthday on occasion. But parents need to indulge their children in a very different way using only recycled or eco-friendly materials to celebrate this holiday which will also provide a great teaching moment.

However, if you have some of these ugly eggs, here's a way you can use them to your advantage.  BTW, I got mine at a garage sale years and years and years ago.

Although my plastic eggs are very old, I have observed two types.  One type snaps together in two parts, and one type is fused together, like the one above.  This is a single egg that snaps shut, while the other type snaps apart into two pieces.  I'm not describing this too well, I'm sure, but you don't want this one.  You want the egg that comes apart into two pieces.

Now that you've chosen your plastic egg, pull a napkin of your choice apart.  There will be three layers, so be sure to use only the top layer.

Once your napkin is apart, turn it over and cut it in a circle.  Cover the egg with the glue of your choice.  I prefer white PVA glue which helps the napkin shrink and fit perfectly on the egg, while sealing the entire assembly.  When dry, you can even stamp on your egg(s).

Try not to press too hard, because the napkins are fragile and will tear apart, like mine did.  However, since the egg color and the napkin colors were compatible, once the glue was dried, my error didn't show as badly. 

Once dry, place your egg in your Easter basket and make about a dozen more!

While I make a few more of these, let’s look at some of the worse plastic Easter offenders.

1. Plastic Easter baskets. Alternative: buy natural fiber baskets at the thrift store, or dig out one you’ve had for years like I did.

2. Cellophane or plastic wrapped Easter gift baskets. Alternative: consider wrapping your Easter basket using tissue or other eco-friendly materials. Or, leave it unwrapped if it doesn't have far to travel to reach the recipient.

3. Candy goodies wrapped in plastic to go in the plastic baskets. Alternative: dye real eggs using natural dyes with your kids and hide them in the baskets or outdoors early on Easter morning. Instead of buying the pre-made chocolate bunnies, why not buy a bar or two of your (or your kids) favorite chocolate and cover with various bunny stickers or rubber stamped images.

4. Plastic grass. Alternative: Use your paper shredder to make recyclable grass. When Easter is over, put the shredded paper in your compost pile or around the base of your plants. Don't leave it in your basket, because it might attract varmints or critters. If you have plastic grass, be sure to either dispose of it quickly and responsibly so pets (like curious cats, dogs, or birds) don't get into it and accidentally digest it, or do as I do, wrap your basket filled with the grass (probably purchased in the 80s) in a large kitchen trash bag that you keep from year to year.  Never dispose of it so birds can get it. They will be attracted to it to use in their nests.

4. Plastic eggs.  Alternative: Here's a look at some I've made in previous years.

I hope you find some lovely napkins to recycle your ugly offensive plastic eggs this year and turn Easter into a genuine green holiday! 

This is Day 1 of 22, where I recycled an ugly plastic egg into a work of art, recycled a photo from a previous year, and explained ways you can turn Easter into a green holiday.  Here's to a green and happy Easter to one and all who celebrate it.