Ok, I threw Greta’s name in there because she’s a bit of a lightning rod these days for getting the public’s attention. What I really should have titled this is “Towards A More Sustainable Christmas” But some of you are now rolling your eyes at “sustainable”.
I don’t think I’m much different than most people these days who are looking at the small ways to reduce waste that goes into landfills. A recent study suggests that we put out 30 per cent more garbage at Christmas – think mountains of discarded wrapping paper, all those leftovers from Christmas dinner that don’t get eaten, and all the packaging that the gifts come in.
So I did some sleuthing online and here’s what I came up with:
Use reusuable gift bags not wrapping paper.
A collapsible stainless steel drinking straw.
Plastic free shaving kits – bamboo handle and stainless steel head.
Reusable Beeswax wraps for those leftovers instead of clingfilm.
Replace old tree lights with LED’s.
Homemade tree decorations – dried fruit , cranberry and popcorn garlands,
Give homemade gifts in glass jars – jams, jellies, pickles, condiments.
Buy antique glass ornaments from second hand stores instead of new plastic ornaments.
I know, for a lot of these suggestions it may be too late to do them this year, but now you’ve got an entire year to move to a more “green” Christmas!
