Genevieve Silk suggests a few ways
to make Christmas a bit greener.
It’s hard to imagine Christmas without the
colour green: Christmas trees, holly leaves,
Brussels sprouts and festive wreaths.
Yet the aftermath of Christmas is anything
but. Every year, food is wasted, gifts are
discarded, and decorations are thrown
away, making Christmas a nightmare for
the planet. One solution would be to copy
Oliver Cromwell and ban all things fun.
Although, I think we can all agree that’s
not the solution we’re after! Instead,
we can all make a little effort to make
our own Christmas a little less wasteful
and together achieve a huge result.
Wrapping paper
Nothing quite gets you in the Christmas
spirit like playing some festive tunes and
wrapping up a pile of Christmas presents.
It’s something of a comedown, however,
to learn that 227,000 miles of wrapping
paper ends up in landfill ll every year!
Fortunately, most wrapping paper is
recyclable unless it is shiny, metallic or
glittery. A simple way to test this is by
scrunching it into a ball; if it stays scrunched
up, it should be recyclable. Alternatively, lend
your gifts a kooky, quirky look by using the
newspapers and magazines you already have
lying around the house as wrapping paper.
Even better, brown paper is compostable
and can be jazzed up with a snazzy ribbon.
(Are brown paper packages tied up with
strings not a few of our favourite things?)
Or for those wishing to take their zero
waste Christmas a step further, fabric wrap
and ribbons can make the perfect reusable
wrapping ‘paper’.
Christmas Dinner
What would Christmas be without the family
gathered around the table with eyes as round
as saucers as they prepare to dive into the
scrumptious feast before them? But how
often are our eyes bigger than our stomachs?
Roughly four million Christmas dinners are
thrown away each year, resulting in 270,000
tons of wasted food. In fact, if all Christmas
food waste were turned into energy, it could
power a medium-sized house for 57 years!
Better to have too much food than not
enough, but best of all to have just the right
amount. Making a list of the food we need
and sticking to it, (as well as checking expiry
dates) will go a long way towards reducing
our Christmas food waste. Freezing leftovers
or rustling up a batch of bubble and squeak
will also lead to less food being thrown away.
Rather ironically, Christmas is often a time
when fervent respect for tradition convinces
us to prepare foods we would normally avoid.
Many people find turkey rather dry and
tasteless and about half the population hates
sprouts, which leads to approximately 263,000
turkeys and 17.2 million sprouts being thrown
away every year. Who says that certain foods
must be eaten at Christmas? Don’t be afraid
to turn your nose up at tradition and leave
certain foods off your plate.
While we’re on the subject, an article of
this nature would not be complete without
mentioning that the single biggest way for
individuals to shrink their carbon footprint
is by reducing consumption of meat and dairy.
Why not get creative and challenge yourself
to a meatless Christmas?
Tackling climate change isn’t about a few
people living a zero-waste lifestyle perfectly,
but about all of us living it imperfectly.
Individually we can make a few small changes
to our lives and together put the green back
into Christmas.
Vouchers
Christmas is a period of generosity and
gift-giving. But is giving someone a gift
they neither need nor want truly an act of
generosity? How often have we all eagerly
torn open the wrapping paper only to put on
a show of false appreciation? And how many
times have we given someone a gift more out
of convention than because we know they will
like it? Every year the UK spends roughly £700
million on unwanted presents that are often
either shoved into the back of a wardrobe or
simply thrown away.
However, this Christmas you can cut down
on waste and support local businesses
by shopping local and giving vouchers or
gift cards instead. Giving money is often
considered impersonal but a voucher shows
the recipient that you have taken the time
to think about what they would appreciate.
Whether that’s a Christmas hamper relaxing
beauty or hair treatment, quality food and
family time at a local restaurant, or a bottle
(or two) of novelty gin, vouchers
can provide an ideal ‘experience’
gift. A list of Barrow businesses
offering vouchers can be found on
the following pages. If you don’t
see a business mentioned, ask
them if they do vouchers!
Alternatively, whip out some
felt-tip pens and scissors
and make one yourself
(you’ll have to back it
up with your money,
too, of course!).