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12 ways to ensure your Christmas won’t cost the earth! | |
admin | |
2021-12-09 | |
发布年 | 2021 |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | 英国 |
领域 | 资源环境 |
正文(英文) | 12 ways to ensure your Christmas won’t cost the earth!As you start to plan your festivities and you purchase your Christmas food and gifts. There are some simple steps we can take to make Christmas more sustainable At this time of year, we generate more waste than any other time. One example, the amount of cardboard packaging we produce is approximately 300,000 tonnes, enough to wrap the London Eye 50,000 times according to Recycle Now. We also need to consider ways we can remove avoidable plastic from our festive preparations. Including Christmas cards, decorations and gifts. Around 12 million tonnes of plastic enters our environment each year that’s equivalent to a bin lorry load every minute. Below are 12 simple steps to make your Christmas greener.1. Christmas TreeIf choosing your tree is 1 of your festive highlights, how do you choose a lovely tree but be as sustainable as possible? An artificial Christmas trees needs to be used for approximately 10 years for their environmental impact to be lower than a real tree. Better still, have you considered purchasing a potted tree and then you can plant it outside after the festive season. If you don’t have space to plant it, you could keep it in its pot outside on the patio. This enables you to do your bit for the environment and reuse the tree again next year. It could last a lifetime! Trees, woods, and forests are vital for tackling the climate emergency. Buying your real Christmas tree from a certified by Grown in Britain supplier will ensure the tree is from a legal and sustainable UK source. If you don’t have a potted tree, then make sure you recycle your tree responsibly. Visit your local authority website to find out how to recycle your tree. 2. Christmas Eve BoxInvest in a reusable Christmas Eve box that can be used for many years to come, perhaps even becoming a family heirloom! You could get creative and make your own reusable box and items to fill it with, you could even make your pet 1 too. 3. GiftsWhy not give eco gifts to family and friends. Buy a gift with a difference this year. It could be something like a reusable coffee cup, reusable makeup remover wipes or a solid shampoo bar. This will encourage a positive behaviour change which will lead to a more sustainable lifestyle. You could even gift a membership to a charity or wildlife trust, helping to support vital environmental work. 4. Wrapping presentsUse recyclable wrapping paper were possible. If it’s got foil or glitter on it then it can’t be recycled and could contain plastic. Most supermarkets have recyclable options, so try to buy these where possible. You could use old newspaper to wrap gifts or even recycle last year’s paper. How about getting creative and using potato stamps to decorate parcel paper and adding a sprig of holly for that Christmas feel. 5. BowsInstead of adding plastic ribbons to your gifts that will end up in landfill, why not use a more sustainable alternative. You could use a fabric bow that can be kept and re-used to jazz up future gifts. Look for things you already have and repurpose them to decorate your Christmas gifts. When fabric bows/ribbons come to the end of their life, dispose of them with other textiles recycling. 6. CardsWe throw away approximately 1 billion Christmas cards every year. It would take the equivalent of 33 million trees to make that amount of card. If possible, buy cards printed on FSC-certified, recycled card and are recyclable. Some cards have detachable items on the front that contain wildflower seeds which can be planted in soil in the new year. Even better go for the personal touch and make your own from recycled card. Your friends and family will receive unique cards, that have not cost the earth! Remember just like wrapping paper, if cards are decorated with glitter or foil, they can’t be recycled. 7. DecorationsAvoid using single use decorations. Why not get crafty and make some homemade decorations instead. You could use natural resources like pinecones, which you can decorate or make your own natural star using twigs for the top of your tree. A great eco-friendly Christmas decoration for years to come. 8. Christmas DinnerWhen it comes to cooking Christmas dinner and other festive treats, there are some simple yet important ways we can protect the environment. Try and buy as many items as possible from local suppliers, such as your meat, fruit and veg. Dairy products are 1 of the most harmful items poured down the kitchen sink to the environment. It requires a large amount of oxygen to break down, meaning less oxygen in the water for wildlife. This is why pouring milk down the drain is a criminal offence for businesses. Do not be tempted to tip your leftover dessert custard, creams and yoghurts down the sink. Instead, be conscious of overbuying dairy products. If you do have dairy leftovers recycle it in your food waste bin. Most councils recycling food waste will accept dairy products as part of their collections and this tends to go to facilities that can generate energy from waste so the throw away produce is going to good use. 9. Christmas WreathWreaths are a beautiful Christmas decoration, but some are more eco-friendly than others. Avoid wreaths adorned with plastic accessories and glittery decorations. Not only are these made using non sustainable materials, but they can be harmful for birds and wildlife if hung outside. Go for a real, fresh wreath made using seasonal, natural foliage and adornments. Even better, make your own out of either fabric that will last year after year or natural resources from your own garden such as leaves and pinecones. 10. Christmas CrackersUnfortunately, most Christmas crackers are often laden with glitter, making them unrecyclable. They are also filled with plastic toys and gifts that are thrown away once the last mouthful of Christmas dinner has been eaten. Why not make unique Christmas crackers without the environmental cost. Use FSC-certified, recycled paper and check it can be recycled after use. Use recyclable paper ties to tie them. Each cracker could contain a recyclable paper hat and joke and either a wooden Christmas tree decoration or a chocolate in a compostable wrapper. You could reuse a shoe box or something similar to put them in. If not, there are Christmas crackers available to purchase that use FSC-certified, recycled paper and the items inside are sustainable too. 11. Christmas walkInstead of a Christmas drive or just dropping down in front of the TV why not go out for a Christmas walk? Being in a green space has been shown to be good for your physical and mental health. It has become even more apparent especially during the pandemic is the enormous benefit people get from seeking solace in nature. We can look after ourselves by getting outdoors more, but we need to look after nature too. Make sure you follow the Countryside Code which tells you how to get out and enjoy green spaces while respecting wildlife and other people. 12. Glitz and glamDid you know that cosmetic and sanitary wipes contribute to 93 per cent of sewer blockages in the United Kingdom? Even when they do not contain plastic, the majority of these wipes do not break down due to the non-woven material they are made of. This prevents them from breaking apart when cleaning surfaces or removing make-up. Once flushed down the toilet, wipes can get caught in piping, accumulate and congeal with fatbergs. They also litter beaches and even create large, messy mounds along the banks of riverbeds. If you use make-up remover wipes after Christmas festivities, remember to never flush your wipes! These small changes make a lot less waste to ensure that this Christmas does not cost the earth! Ends Editor’ Information
Published 9 December 2021
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来源平台 | UK Environment Agency |
文献类型 | 新闻 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/342770 |
专题 | 资源环境科学 |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | admin. 12 ways to ensure your Christmas won’t cost the earth!. 2021. |
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