What We Can Do to Reduce Our Waste at Christmas
Article supplied by Michael King
With the holidays less than one month away, families are going to be decorating their homes, sending greetings cards, wrapping presents and cooking luxurious dinners—all parts which go together to make the Christmas period so special.
One of the side-effects of an extravagant holiday is the amount of waste we produce, from the plastic wrapped around greetings cards to excitedly shredded gift wrapping and increased food waste.
It was found that there will be approximately 3 millions tonnes of additional waste this Christmas, so what can we do to help reduce that number whilst, at the same time, not compromising on the festivities? After all, after the year we’ve had, we all deserve to indulge this Christmas.
Wrapping Paper
Hundreds of millions of rolls of wrapping paper are used each year, but did you know that some of it can’t be recycled? There’s a super easy way to check if it can be recycled or not—simply roll the paper into a ball, and if it stays in a ball then that means it can probably be recycled. If it bounced back, that means it’s likely covered in a layer of foil or plastic, and still needs to be thrown in the regular trash. You could also check the packaging it came in, if you still have it of course.
The above photo shows a present wrapped with tissue paper. The ribbons have been reused by ironing the creases out. And the ornament is vintage. The only new thing used is the tissue paper.
More gift wrapping ideas with previously used materials:
Round Two
Envelopes Made with Magazine Pages
Gift Decorations Found in Nature
Christmas Trees
It’s easy to figure out that your tree doesn’t need to go in the regular trash, with plenty of services available to ensure it doesn’t end up in a landfill. Surprisingly, 14% of people with fake trees will also throw those out after the holidays, too, so make sure it’s disposed of properly and check whether any parts, such as the base or any fittings, can be recycled.
Food
The equivalent of up to 54 million Christmas dinners will be thrown out during the holidays, so why not use those leftovers and get a little creative in the kitchen? Mash your potatoes and veggies together for a healthy bubble and squeak. Freeze the leftover stuffing and save it for Easter. Boil the turkey in a pot to make a rich, meaty stock, and make a hearty soup to help you get through the rest of the icy winter. There are a ton of recipes and guides online that can help you with ideas and how to make sure you’re not throwing away any food you don’t have to.
Gifts and Gadgets
Once we’ve unwrapped our awesome new gifts, what do we do with the mountain of leftover packaging? Check the undersides of boxes and plastics to see if it can be recycled; we know it’s easier to just throw it all in the same bag, but in order to reduce the number of waste hitting the landfills, we all need to do a little bit more. And with a lot of us getting new phones and tablets for Christmas, what do we do with all old ones? A study from RS Components found that in 2019 alone, 50 million tonnes of tech waste was thrown away – so why not sell your old phone on eBay or donate it to a charity who will use it to help someone get back on their feet?
Greetings Cards
We all love to exchange greetings cards, but did you know that one tree only equates to 176 people sending cards? There are a number of other options available, such as sending e-cards, or cards made out of recycled materials. It has even become a trend to warn family and friends that you won’t be sending cards this year, and instead make a charitable donation and sign it from everyone you would have sent a card to. Remember, most greetings cards can be recycled, too!
That’s just a few tips to make sure we have a slightly greener Christmas. What other things do you do during the holidays to help reduce the amount of trash? Let us know in the comments!
2020
