Christmas is one the best times of the year, where we get to celebrate with family and friends and have a break away from the daily routine of the workplace.
When you hear the word Christmas, you’ll automatically think food, drink and of course, presents! But during the festivities are we giving any thoughts as to the amount of food we really need and the amount of wrapping and packing we must get through?
As the years have gone by, the world has become more conscious of making an effort to reduce waste, recycle more and overall become more eco-friendly. So, this begs the question, are we as mindful at Christmas as we are during the year?
Wrapping
In 2018 we reportedly threw away over 227,000 miles of wrapping paper, which I’m sure you can agree is a staggering amount. In addition, not all wrapping paper can be recycled.
If paper contains foil or glitter, along with any sticky tape and ribbon all these need to be placed into general rubbish rather than recycling.
Christmas cards have also become part of the topic. Most styles are packed with glitter and display fancy attachments, which aren’t always recyclable.
What’s more, on average each person will receive 24 Christmas cards, which will also be thrown away. So, are cards really that important and will it make your reconsider who makes it to the card list?
If a green Christmas is at the top of your list this year, shop around for eco-friendly alternatives such as brown kraft paper and 100% recyclable/recycled materials.
The small changes we have been made through the year can be applied at Christmas too!
Food
In addition to the wrapping and material saga, there’s the issue around food. Large families get together, people travel and friends reunite to indulge in a feast that you wait for all year. A turkey, vegetables and all the trimmings – what could be the problem with that?
It’s not the food choice that’s become an issue, more the volume purchased and the amount that is thrown away rather than consumed.
Each Christmas, a reported 30% more waste is produced than any other time in a year. That’s an estimated 270,000 tonnes of perfectly good food, that has essentially gone to waste.
There are some simple and effective methods to deal with such problem.
- Forward planning
- Making a shopping list
- Checking dates and foods that can freeze
- Use the leftover rather than throwing them
- Check to see what food you may have already
Overall, the message remains the same as any other time of the year, be mindful in your choices. Any change you can make will contribute to the conditioning of the world that has been affected by our actions.
Source – https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/reduce-christmas-waste/ https://www.gwp.co.uk/guides/christmas-packaging-facts/#:~:text=That’s%20a%20lot%20of%20card,cards%20during%20the%20Christmas%20period.