According to a handful of holiday-shopping surveys, there is going to be a lot of gift-card giving this holidays. Here is a sampling of some of the surveys I’ve found.

NCR Corp. just completed a nationwide survey on holiday shopping, aptly titled “Holiday Headaches.” The study examined a number of holiday shopping issues, including gift card purchases and found:

* Two-thirds of consumers will purchase at least one gift card during the holiday season.

* Of those purchasers, consumers on average will buy more than seven gift cards per year.

* When asked which factors influenced the decision to purchase a gift card as opposed to another item from a store, shoppers cite not knowing what gift to purchase (71 percent).

* Nearly half of all consumers also reported purchasing gift cards to avoid returns (47 percent), and another 45 percent purchased gift cards because it takes less time than selecting a gift. According to the BIGresearch American Pulse Survey of 4,069 respondents, 52.1% of consumers say they would rather receive a gift card or cash for Christmas.

From the National Retail Federation:

* Consumers will spend $26.3 billion on gift cards this holiday season, compared to $24.8 billion in 2006.

* The average consumer will spend more on gift cards than they did last year ($122.59 vs. $116.51 in 2006).

* 56.6 percent of consumers plan to buy gift cards this holiday season, compared to other top selling gift items like clothing, toys and books.

* 87.7 percent of shoppers said they will purchase two or more gift cards this holiday season.

Now consider this: according to Earthworks, a company that recycles PVC plastic, gift card disposal contributes to the more than 75 million pounds of plastic that ends up in the waste stream each year. And with folks giving $26.3 billion worth of gift cards, that could add up to tons (literally!) of trash in 2008.

Most gift cards these days are reloadable, meaning that you can add money to them again and again. So, to avoid having your gift card end up as trash, if you get one as a gift this year, don’t turn it over to the cashier once you’re done using it. Keep it to reload later (your gift wallet would come in handy here) or figure out a way to recycle it. Treehugger has highlighted craftspeople who recycle gift cards into decorative items, like coasters.

Better yet, support retailers that are forward-thinking when it comes to their gift cards–meaning, they stock biodegradable ones. Both Target and REI offer gift cards made of a corn-based polymer from Mirel that breaks down in your compost pile.

I’m not sure that you can recycle gift cards into gift tags, the way you can when you take a pair of pinking shears to an old holiday card. So what are some other creative ways to reuse gift cards (outside of putting more money on them) so you can keep them out of the trash? I’d love to hear some ideas.