The weather is cold and freezing outside, snow lays thick on the ground and Christmas is in the air. We’re all busy with the seasonal activities, shopping and hopefully having lots of fun, but there are still things we can do to make sure that our Christmas is a green one and, maybe, save a little money at the same time.
It’s an easy thing to overlook during the festive period, especially when so much goes to waste, but it is a good time of year to recycle. Here are some top environmentally friendly tips for the Christmas period.
Christmas Tree Recycling
If you have a natural Christmas tree after the festive period make sure that you recycle it. Some local authorities have tree recycling schemes, or if you have room you might want to consider replanting your tree in your own garden afterwards. Artificial trees can be used time and time again, but if you do buy one try to make sure it is one that can be recycled at a later date if it needs to be.
Batteries
Christmas tends to eat batteries of all shapes and sizes, so why not buy rechargeable ones that can be used again and again. This will save you money over their life time and saves on wastage. There are even solar battery chargers that can be purchased these days, so that would help even more. If you do use up standard batteries, remember that they can be recycled too so don’t just throw them away!
Wrapping Paper
You can easily buy wrapping paper made from recycled materials from almost any outlet these days. If you want to be ultra environmentally friendly and to save a few pennies try to only use enough paper to wrap the item and use a minimum of sticky tape to seal the paper, so you can try to reclaim the paper for next year. Instead of sticky tape try using ribbons which will make the paper easier to unwrap intact. As an alternative think of using Christmas gift bags to give unwrapped presents in as these are much easier to reuse time after time.
Environmentally Friendly Gifts
Instead of the traditional presents see if you can either buy a gift which is an environmentally friendly alternative or would help the person save money through the year. For example, if someone wants a radio, then think of buying a radio with an inbuilt dynamo that can be wound up to power the device. For the energy saving conscious an Energy Monitor could help them monitor and save energy through the year. Ethically sourced gifts can also be greatly appreciated.
Christmas Decorations
If you are buying or thinking of new Christmas lights, make sure you buy LED ones. These last longer and use far less energy than conventional lights.
If you are planning to buy decorations, consider buying natural ones, such as Holly. Bring a touch of the natural world into your Christmas decorations. After Christmas you can easily recycle the Holly.
As a final thought, you can even buy your own Xmas tree seeds and grow your own tree for next year!! How about that?!
Greetings Cards
If you want to be environmentally friendly then it is worth considering sending e-cards this year, many sites offer a range of alternatives for cards and it will not only cut down on your carbon footprint, but also save you postage.
If you want to buy cards think of sourcing recycled cards, many charities and organisations offer a way of support the charity at the same time as buying the cards.
As a final thought, for those who are cost conscious and want to be really environmentally friendly, if you hang onto the cards you have received this year and then cut them up next year and you can use them as cheap gift tags!
Have an environmentally friendly Christmas!!
Written by Symon Silvester
