With the global pandemic still looming, Christmas 2020 will definitely look different to previous ones. Even though events and activities will be reduced and dinners limited to household members only, we can still deck the halls with boughs of holly and exchange gifts. And the best gift we can give one another is a cleaner and better environment. Here are some green Christmassy tips you can follow.
Deck the halls
1. First things first. Don’t buy any decorations. Use decorations that you may already have at your disposal. The best Christmas decorations are family heirlooms that emerge year after year – making them instantly sustainable.
2. Get creative. Grab those materials and items that you have lying around the house to make your unique Christmas decorations. You can make your own wreath using paper and twine, or even cork. Remember, however, that recyclable material is no longer suitable for recycling once painted.
3. We all agree that Christmas lights play a major role in creating a festive atmosphere. However, make sure your flashy lights do not burn a hole in your pocket. Choose more energy efficient LED sets that generate less greenhouse gases, and do not leave them on when you’re not around. Or else you can switch to solar-powered lights outdoors, and put both sets on a timer.
Time to shop
4. Going shopping? Rule number one: Plan ahead! Be it food, kitchenware or presents – always make sure to shop mindfully. It’s a shame to throw away any excess or unwanted good items.
5. While Christmas and shopping go together, so do packaging and waste. Try to avoid single-use plastics. Use cloth bags when doing your Christmas shopping or any other shopping for that matter. Think of how many resources you are saving and how much less waste you are generating.
6. Purchasing food for gift hampers? Choose local. You’ll use fewer food miles, less packaging and you can feel confident that you are opting for fresher quality products whilst helping the local industry.
Glorious food
7. What is Christmas without the traditional family Christmas dinner? Christmas is a time for giving, and sadly also for wasting. It’s the time were food waste is at its highest. So, think smaller this Christmas. Plan ahead. It’s your family you are feeding, not the army.
8. Having said this, if you still cooked a surplus amount of food, be creative with your leftovers. A quick internet search can present you with numerous leftover recipes and information on how you can transform today’s leftover turkey into tomorrow’s turkey salad or wrap.
9. While preparing the Christmas menu, check with your guests if they like or want the ingredients being served on the day beforehand. This will help you prepare food that all will enjoy whilst you reduce your waste. If, in spite of all this, guests still leave unwanted food in their plates, at least dispose of it in the right way and throw it in the white bag as organic waste.
10. If you are opting to choose single-use plastics plates and cutlery, think again. Christmases come and go. That single-use plastic that you use and throw away remain for many years after.
Give and take
11. Aim for a paperless Christmas! There is a way to send season’s greetings without costing the planet. Instead of sending Christmas cards to every living being on earth, you can consider e-cards. These generate no waste, cost no money and arrive in no time. Alternatively, your dear ones are only a phone call away.
12. Try to make do without wrapping paper, and if you feel that you really need your gift to be wrapped, choose the plainest of wrapping papers, without plastic, foil or glitter, as these make the wrapping non-recyclable. Brown paper wrapping makes presents quite Instagrammable, whereas newspaper wrapping looks rustic and romantic.
13. Avoid gifts packaged in plastic or any other type of unnecessary packaging. Instead, go for loose gifts and toys. When you buy packaged items, you are literally paying for the packaging that you will be throwing away upon opening.
Give the gift of masks
14. This Christmas give the gift of pretty, reusable cloth masks to protect against COVID-19. You will be reducing many disposable masks from circulation and you also look pretty and original wearing one. However, if you still opt for reusable ones, dispose of them properly in the black bag and not in the street.
Last but not least, while this Christmas will be different it is undeniably business as usual for our waste collectors. So, dispose of your litter in the right way. The least we can do is follow the golden rule: reduce, reuse and recycle!
Each and every one of us can follow one of the above suggestions. Make this year a year of change. 2020 will be unforgettable for many reasons. Let’s also make it the year where the Earth started breathing again.
Be the solution not the pollution.
