The holiday season is full of lots of socialising, spending time with family and friends, eating your bodyweight in Christmas chocolates and generally indulging in everything from presents to mulled wine!
This year it certainly feels like we have more to make up for and enjoy than ever after Covid. During the pandemic last year, a lot of people gained a new awareness of the planet and saw first hand how the environment changed when there was less travel and pollution – but how can we make little changes at home to help support this bigger picture? We have put together a few top tips on how you can do your bit this Christmas.
1. Sort, Reuse, Recycle
Christmas morning is full of wrapping paper everywhere and boxes being torn open in excitement – all of the packaging and wrapping invariably ends up in the bin but there will be a significant amount of it that can be recycled (and a few surprising things that can’t be!). Taking the time to sort through what’s been discarded and seeing if you can repurpose it or recycle it can make a big difference to the waste generated.
You can get creative in the way you reuse some of it – like shredding wrapping paper to make confetti for the New Year or saving the tubes from the Christmas wrapping paper to make your own homemade Christmas crackers. You can also repurpose your Christmas cards by turning them into Christmas decorations, present labels or even a Christmas card wreath!
2. Batteries
A lot of toys given at Christmas need batteries to work, making the change from disposable batteries to rechargeable ones will help reduce waste and also reduce your carbon footprint, as a rechargeable battery can replace hundreds of disposable ones. There is also the added bonus of you having usable batteries in the house for when you might need them in the future.
3. Local groceries
With food being a staple part of the festive period (just think about the amount of cheese boards and nibbles!) it is a great opportunity to shop local. There are so many independent traders who grow their own veg, sell local cheese and chutneys – not to mention local breweries and distilleries. This not only helps reduce your carbon footprint, it’s great to support smaller businesses and the food always tastes so much better than what you would get at a big supermarket.
4. What are you wearing?
We all like to wear something a bit different on Christmas, whether its special pyjamas or a sparkly festive outfit – it’s worth thinking about where your outfit comes from and how you will continue to wear it. Fast fashion creates a significant amount of textile waste which has huge impacts on the environment – so if you can invest in an outfit that you will get the most out of, it will make a big difference.
5. Save your energy
No we don’t mean your energy for running round and entertaining the kids! We mean your home’s energy. Christmas lights, heating, kitchens working in overdrive – it all uses a lot of energy. We aren’t saying that you need to be a scrooge, but just be mindful of what is still turned on and whether it really needs to be.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ZIP US IN TEAM
