As the saying goes, "The more the merrier!" However, one local researcher says that isn't the case when it comes to wrapping presents.
Miranda Yin, an assistant professor of marketing at Cal Poly, and her co-authors say that is partly because people "overpackage" the gifts they are giving. Their research found that overpackaging is often intended to convey more thought behind the gift, but it isn't always received that way.
"There's a discrepancy between gift givers and gift recipients when it comes to overpackaged goods," Yin said. "Gift givers view overpackaged gifts more positively than regularly packaged gifts, whereas gift recipients display the exact opposite valuation."
She adds that their findings show over 50% of all gifts are overpackaged.
"Americans tend to produce 25% more trash during the time period between Thanksgiving and New Year's than they do the rest of the year," said Ashley Cuder, Program Coordinator at the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA).
Cuder adds that many of the items used to wrap gifts are not recyclable in San Luis Obispo County. She says tissue paper and wrapping paper are often mistaken for recyclable when they are not.
So how can you wrap a gift sustainably and so it's not overpackaged?
Lexi Head from the SLO Climate Coalition says she uses sustainable materials to wrap her gifts, even using an alternative to tape.
"So tape is also plastic, right? Something that many people don't think about, and I make my own glue, which is just one part flour to four parts water," Head explained.
If you don't want to make your own glue, that's okay — there are some other things you can do to wrap sustainably.
Head says using things like paper bags or newspapers to wrap presents can go a long way. You can also reuse wrapping paper and tissue paper from the gifts you receive.
"There's a lot of tradition that surrounds the holidays, but I think it's important to keep in mind that they don't have to include waste," Cuder added.
Yin says that the way you wrap a gift isn't the only way to make someone feel like there is more thought behind it. She recommends a special note.
"The personal note will make recipients feel special and then will make recipients perceive the gift-givers as thoughtful," Yin said.
When it comes to disposing of your gift wrapping supplies, there are a few resources you can consult to see what can and can't be recycled.
This is a search guide that you can plug different items into, in order to see if they are recyclable.
https://sloiwma.recyclist.co/guide/?embeddedguide=true
