The holiday season is full of joy—but it also leads to a lot of waste. Between gift wrapping, parties, decorations, shopping bags, and takeout containers, Americans create 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year’s (U.S. EPA).

This year, the City of Sunrise invites you to celebrate sustainably by passing up single-use plastics and choosing reusable, recyclable, and waste-free options.

Why Holiday Waste Matters

Much of our holiday waste plastic packaging, ribbons, single-use cups, utensils, and bags cannot be recycled. When these items end up in landfills or waterways, they contribute to pollution that harms local wildlife, including Florida’s coastal and Everglades ecosystems.

Easy Ways to Pass Up Plastics This Holiday Season

• Create DIY gifts using jars, canned goods, or reused containers, and/or choose gifts with minimal or no plastic packaging.
• Wrap gifts with reusable bags, fabric, or recycled paper (avoid plastic-coated paper and glitter). Paper gift wrap often is not recyclable when it has a shiny or laminated coating. If you use gift wrap, purchase a type that can be recycled or is made from recycled content. Learn what can be recycled in Sunrise
• Add natural décor like flowers, ribbon made from fabric, or a reusable bow.
• Bring a reusable bag for shopping.
• Swap plastic plates, utensils, and cups for reusable or compostable ones.
• Choose cloth napkins instead of paper or plastic-wrapped disposable options.
• Choose durable decorations instead of single-use plastic garlands or balloons.
• Use LED lights, which use less energy and last longer.
• Try natural, compostable décor like rosemary branches, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks, etc.
• Participate in a “Plastic-Free Gift Wrapping” challenge at home or in class.

Sunrise is committed to environmental stewardship and leadership and finds that it is in the public interest, safety, and welfare of our community and visitors to reduce litter and pollutants on land and in the water in our City. When discarded plastic items get littered, or caught by the wind, these items get washed into our storm drains and negatively impact our stormwater management system and waterways, and threaten wildlife and marine life.

Pass Up Plastics is our community-wide initiative to reduce the use of single-use plastic items like bags, beverage and takeout containers, straws, and utensils. Plastics do not biodegrade, but rather slowly break down into smaller pieces of plastic (microplastics). It can take up to hundreds of years for plastic products to decompose, so pledge to Pass Up Plastics today, and help to not pass it on to future generations.

The Plastic Problem

Plastics are the most common type of debris found in our beaches, oceans, and waterways. The volume of plastic in our oceans is projected to out-weigh marine life by 2050. Often mistaken as food by fish and birds, plastic threatens the health of marine habitats and wildlife.

• View short documentaries  on plastics from The Story of Stuff Project
• Watch Our plastic problem and how to solve it video from PBS

How many plastics can you pass up?

(By refusing, reusing, or choosing alternatives)

Sunrise Businesses Can Now Take the Pledge!

Interested in becoming a Pass Up Plastics Partner and being a part of the solution? Pass Up Plastics partners will receive a free window cling and recognition on the City’s website. If you have questions about the Pass Up Plastics Pledge, email sustainability@sunrisefl.gov or call 954-888-6043. 

Business Resources

• Debris Free Oceans, a South Florida-based organizations, has a free Vendor Product Guide available for download 
• Miami Beach Suppliers of Environmentally Preferable Food & Beverage Products
• "3 steps to Reduce Plastic & Benefit your Business: A Guide for Restaurants and Eateries" available from Product Stewardship Institute
• "Reusable Food Serviceware Guide" available for download from Rethink Disposable