Living sustainably during the winter months can be a challenge. Most American households significantly increase their waste production over the holidays and use more energy to keep their homes warm.
According to WifiTalents, holiday waste “surged” 25% during Christmas in 2025.
“Just by nature, our society makes sustainability really pretty difficult,” Athens resident Loraine McCosker said. “But it can be done, and certainly a lot of people have been doing it for a long time.”
Using sustainable practices during the winter might be a challenge city residents are ready to tackle.
“I think it's really neat in Athens because we have a sort of local community that really highly values the environment and sustainability,” Sam Crowl, Athens City Council president and director of sustainability at Ohio University, said.
One of the larger challenges during the winter is reducing waste. To reduce waste, residents and locals can be conscious about food waste and recycling.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, reducing food waste can be done by planning meals to avoid over-purchasing, utilizing leftovers for creative recipes, growing foods and purchasing foods with longer shelf lives.
Despite the variety of methods to reduce waste, Crowl said growing foods and supporting local agriculture can be particularly difficult over the winter months, as some warm-weather crops will be out of season.
“For those really trying to be sustainable who might have a garden in their backyard, it's really important to get into canning and jarring vegetables in the summertime so that you can continue to eat fresh, local, maybe from your own backyard throughout the wintertime,” Crowl said.
Recycling after the holidays is also important. People may consider using wrapping paper that is free from glitter, foil and plastic coating, so that it can be recycled successfully, according to Beyond Plastics.
Residents can also donate excess wrapping paper to local thrift stores, like the Community Makerspace and Thrift Store at 751 W. Union St.
Live Christmas trees can also be recycled. The City of Athens recently announced a free Christmas tree curbside pickup on Tuesdays and Fridays that began Dec. 30 and will continue through January.
Residents can participate in this program by calling the yard waste pickup line at 740-592-3343, and should remove all decorations from the tree before scheduling for pickup.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also recommends residents repurpose live Christmas trees to serve local animal habitats. Residents can cut down live trees and use them to spruce up ponds for fish that live there.
Another challenge to living sustainably over the winter months is reducing energy expenditures. According to the Energy Information Administration, homes in the Midwest will see a 12% increase in energy expenditures this winter if they use natural gas for heating. According to OH Energy Ratings, about 64% of homes in Ohio heat using natural gas. There are many things homeowners in Southeast Ohio can do to lower these energy costs.
“Winterization is really important,” Jessica Armold, regional director for Southeast Ohio at the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council, said.
Organizations like the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development and Hocking Athens Perry Community Action offer the Home Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides eligible Ohioans with assistance to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce their energy costs.
The COAD also offers the Electric Partnership Program, which helps eligible Ohioans reduce electricity usage in their homes. Ohioans who need support with reducing their heating and electricity costs can look at the COAD and HAPCAP websites for eligibility information.
For those who cannot utilize weatherization programs, there are several winterization upgrades that can be done within the home.
“We talk a lot about energy efficiency measures with windows,” Armold said. “Upgrade your windows if you can afford to do so. If you can't, a lot of people reglaze windows or re-caulk around them. They can put up plastic to help keep some of that air transfer out. You can turn down your water heater temperature. One of the most important and often overlooked things that you could do is service your furnace.”
Armold said she also recommends turning lights off when leaving a room, unplugging unused appliances and lowering the thermostat to around 68 degrees.
“That may also come with having a couple of comfy sweaters or some fluffy blankets to help cover up and stay a little warm at home, but it's a lot cheaper than cranking your furnace up,” Armold said.
Additionally, people might consider setting their ceiling fan to rotate clockwise to push warm air back down into the living space and checking and replacing their central heating filters.
“I always wear a hat and (winter) clothes in the house, and that’s fine,” McCosker said. “We used to keep our heat at a maximum of 68, and right now 70.”
Sustainability may be a challenge in the winter, but it is not impossible to achieve. The long-term benefits of sustainable practices, such as reducing waste and making energy-efficient home upgrades, might outweigh any upfront costs.
“We can't all be perfectly sustainable in every step that we take every day,” Crowl said. “We each kind of try to fit into what makes sense for us and our lives and our family.”
