Part II: Three ways to a more eco-friendly Christmas

To help you have an even more eco-friendly Christmas, we thought we’d do a part two of our blog on ‘Three ways to a more eco-friendly Christmas’.

1. Rock around the real Christmas tree

In most cases, buying a real Christmas tree is more eco-friendly – just make sure you dispose of it in the right way after the festivities. According to Wayst, most council-run tips shred Christmas trees to make ground-cover for public parks. Local councils may also do collection services if you can’t get your tree to a tip. If your tree’s already potted, you can replant it in the garden at home too.

2. The gift of giving

Watching your friends and family open their gifts you’ve carefully chosen for them on Christmas day is a really special moment. But unfortunately, some of this is very short-lived, with 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging being thrown out, rather than recycled.

You spend time thinking about the perfect gift, so why don’t you think about the perfect gift that’ll last? You could always buy something you know they’ll use over and over again, or look into experiences like a spa day, weekend away or concert.

3. Food, glorious (amounts of), food

Food production is the biggest cause of tropical deforestation, and from the year we’ve had in terms of furlough and redundancies, not all of us can afford to go overboard on the Christmas spread. 

We always have leftovers knocking around until new year, so let’s be more realistic. If your guests are over for dinner, you know them inside out – if they don’t like sprouts, give them a miss, or stick to buying one pudding, rather than a choice of three. Then, with the leftovers you do have, why don’t you think outside the box? How about a curry or stew, rather than the traditional turkey sandwiches for the next five days?

Not only could you be more conscious in your spending, think about where your food is sourced too. What about trying to buy more organic food this year to help the environment? Or why don’t you #SupportYourLocal and shop with smaller businesses in your area?

How have you helped the planet this year in the run-up to Christmas? Let us know in the comments.

Sources:

independent.co.uk/life-style/christmas/christmas-eco-friendly-environment-sustainable-wrapping-paper-tree-decorations-a9240836.html