Eco-friendly tips for Christmas

The Countdown to Christmas has well and truly started so we caught up with Susan Vickers, Energy & Environmental Manager for some eco-friendly tips to help us have a green(er) Christmas.

So how can we do things better this Christmas? … let’s keep it simple:

Trees
– Buy a real tree locally or where possible rent a Christmas tree
– If you have an artificial tree use it – for years and years to make sure you get your value out of it!
– After Christmas, check out your Local Authority to find out about drop-off points in your area, where your old (real) tree will be recycled into chippings for local parks and woodland areas.

Decorations
– Make sure your Christmas lights are LEDs
– Use plastic free tree decorations
– Buy eco-friendly crackers
– Make your wreath from natural seasonal foliage and adornments

Gifts & Wrapping Paper
– Wrap gifts with recycled paper or fabric. Avoid shiny paper that can’t be recycled. Brown paper with a sprig of holly is a fab way to present a gift
– If you want to know if your wrapping paper can be recycled or not, use the scrunch test. Scrunch up the paper in your hands and then let it go. If the paper stays scrunched up then it can be recycled but, if it unfolds by its own accord, then it likely contains non-recyclable elements
– Send forest-friendly/ recyclable Christmas cards
– Be thoughtful about your gifts – no plastic. Try to give sustainable gifts, tickets to a play etc.

Food
– Food waste – plan your meals and use leftovers
– Source locally produced food as much as possible