US households are estimated to produce 25% more garbage during the holidays. From Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, this adds up to about 1 million extra tons of garbage. This includes waste from packaging, food, gift wrapping, holiday cards and shopping bags. About 2.6 billion holidays cards are sold in the US each year, which could fill a football field 10 stories high.
More about holiday habits in the US:
- About 40% of all battery sales each year occur between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- Long distance travel of over 50 miles (80.47 km) increases by 54% during the Thanksgiving and 23% from Christmas to New Year’s in comparison to the rest of the year, according to the US Department of Transportation.
- In 2012, nearly 20% of all annual retail sales took place solely during the holidays, according to the National Retail Federation. Retailers estimated they lost nearly $3 billion US Dollars (USD) due to fraud with returning gifts during and after the holiday season.