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A Green Christmas

Go Green at Christmas ...

Fancy an eco-friendly Christmas this year? Why not start your New Year resolutions a little early and make a difference to the environment?

On average, we generate 3 million tonnes of waste in the festive season (this would fill 120 million wheelie bins), including:

160,000 tonnes of food waste
Wrapping paper to cover 80 square kilometres (enough to cover the size of Guernsey)
6 million trees adorn our homes and offices (only 10% of these were recycled and less than 5% were re-planted)
1 million cards are thrown away
Increase in energy usage with festive lights, new electrical appliances, not to mention cooking the turkey!

Disturbing facts don't you think? How can we reduce our Christmas carbon footprint and save ourselves some money too?

Save Energy ...

Turn off fairy lights at night and when you're not at home
15% of household electricity is wasted by leaving appliances on stand-by, turn off the TV, video and hi-fi completely when not in use
Put on a woolly jumper and turn the thermostat down, by turning it down just 1
degree can cut as much as 10% off your heating bill
Keep lids on saucepans when cooking the sprouts, they will cook faster and you'll save energy. Avoid keep opening the oven door to check on the turkey - save energy by removing it from the oven and close the oven door
Buy energy saving light bulbs and try some solar powered rope lights for some festive sparkle
Avoid paraffin candles as they damage your health and the environment, try beeswax or vegetable based candles; they're smoke-free and biodegradable
Batteries contain toxic chemicals and don't biodegrade, in addition they don't re-cycle well. Use rechargeable ones.
Draw the curtains when it gets dark to keep heat in

Reduce Waste & Recycle ...

Christmas Trees
Real or fake? Real trees are more eco-friendly, but make sure you re-cycle it (most local councils run Christmas tree re-cycling schemes) or buy a rooted one to put in your garden for future use. Artificial trees may last for many years but they are made from metal and PCV derivatives, which use lots of energy to make and are both harmful to human health and the environment. Sadly, most trees end up in landfill sites currently.
Christmas Cards
Why not send virtual E-cards this year? If you do want to send cards, buy charity cards and make sure you re-cycle all those you receive.
Decorations
Don�t buy new! Use what you have or let nature decorate your home this year; use evergreen plants (holly) or natural materials and put in the composter after use. Or make edible tree decorations with cinnamon sticks, dough or even popcorn!
Wrapping
Use re-cycled paper, brown paper or tin foil which can be re-used in the kitchen. Avoid using sticky tape and use string or ribbon instead. Re-cycle the paper for any wrapped gifts you receive.
Unwanted Gifts
Re-cycle your unwanted gifts by giving to a local charity shop, or if suitable give to a hospital or hospice.
Food
Buy an organic bird for your Christmas dinner this year or buy from a local farmer.
We all tend to buy too much food; make a conscience effort and only buy what you're going to eat.
Composting
Compost your garden waste at home, together with vegetable scraps, teabags and some cardboard.

Eco-friendly Gifts ...

Why not give a gift that means something this year? There are so many great ideas!

Ethical gifts ... buy something sustainable, organic and environmentally friendly like fair trade gifts or local produce. Or choose an ethical gift for a sports fanatic or an animal lover. Oxfam also have some great gift ideas for Christmas.
Gifts of Nature ... you can now `adopt an acre` and help save the rain forest or why not sponsor a child in the third world or buy a `goat` and help support a family in Africa. Or why not adopt an endangered species?
Donate to charity ... give a donation to a favourite charity, many options are available on-line so it's easy to do! You can buy high street vouchers through a charity organisation and they will donate 3% of the value to the charity of your choice.
Experience gifts ... why not buy tickets to an event or offer to help paint the spare room in a friend's house, or get the kids to make a written promise to clean Dad's car every week or do the washing up?

For more eco-friendly tips, read our guide.

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