DECK THE HALLS WITH RECYCLED DECORATIONS.

Byline: Jim Feehan The Register-Guard

For Dorothy Sistrom the holidays are all about following the four "R's" - reduce, reuse, recycle and rejoice.

On Sunday, Sistrom joined dozens of other environmentally savvy consumers learning to make holiday decorations from recycled household items at the first-ever Less is Best Holiday Fair.

The event, held over the weekend at the Network Charter School in downtown Eugene, was sponsored by the Lane County Master Recyclers Program, the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts and BRING.

Sistrom stapled discarded six-pack plastic rings together, creating a snowflake decoration. In doing so, she said she hoped to help save some of the fish and mammals that regularly choke on the throwaway items.

Sistrom said her mother, a nurse during the Depression, instilled in her a strong environmental ethic that included saving all wrapping papers and bows.

"My motto is, `Once is not enough,' ' Sistrom said.

The profligate holiday consumption takes a hefty toll on the environment, Sistrom said.

"We're exhausting the planet's resources," she said. "We're contributing to global warming with all this needless consumption filling up our landfills."

The holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve is one of the most wasteful in our culture, contributing about 25 percent more garbage than during the rest of the year, said Sarah Grimm, master recycling coordinator for the Lane County Waste Management Department.

Grimm on Sunday was accessorizing with recycled jewelry made of old bottle caps with postage stamp-sized photos glued to the inside of the caps.

Other holiday shoppers learned how to make a range of gifts, greeting cards and decorations from recycled materials. Bows were attached to old compact discs to create ornaments. Old frozen juice lids were fashioned into medallions.

"There's a growing dissatisfaction with the excess and consumerism in our society," said Grimm. "We need to teach children how to simplify the holiday season."

Nine-year-old Kayleen Casey of Marcola folded old greeting cards to create decorative gift boxes. Her toe rings, earrings and other jewelry are destined for the tiny boxes, she said.

"I like making the whole thing and seeing the finished results," she said.

Joining Casey at a craft table was Shelby Montgomery, 8, of Eugene. Shelby's mother, Brooke Millett, recently completed the master recycling program and said she wanted to inculcate in her daughter the virtues of conservation.

A few years ago, Millett found the holidays were becoming empty for her because of the rampant commercialism.

"I started to feel all stressed out by all the consumerism," she said. "It's time to change the focus about what the season is all about."

LESS IS BEST

Lane County Master Recyclers Program offers the following suggestions to reduce waste during the holidays

Gifts: Buy gifts that use energy-saving resources such as rechargeable batteries and fluorescent light bulbs. Give homemade gifts, such as cookies or other baked goods, or a craft, skill or service, such as hair styling, gardening, pruning, cleaning, etc.

Gift wrap: Just say no to wrapping paper. Add bows to holiday shopping bags or gift boxes. Wrap gifts in fabrics, bandanas, old maps, posters or reused gift wrap.

Greeting cards: Buy cards made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper, or make your own.

Decorations: Avoid buying disposable decorations. Use natural materials such as pine cones, dried flowers or berries.

Shop local: Support local merchants rather than national chain stores. Support companies that donate profits to charity and environmental causes.

CAPTION(S):

Dorothy Sistrom of Springfield examines a finished snowflake made from six-pack soda rings.