I’m dreaming of a green Christmas…
Let’s have a sustainable Christmas in Birmingham! Get into the festive spirit with our tips for a zero-waste Christmas.
It's the time of the year where we indulge ourselves; shops are over-flowing with food, drink, and gifts, beckoning us in. But this can be bad news for the environment. Over the Christmas season we produce a shocking 30% more waste than any other time of the year. This is around 3 million extra tonnes of extra rubbish!
However, change is in the air, with over half of UK adults wanting to celebrate Christmas in a more environmentally friendly way. Keep reading below for our sustainable festive tips.
Don't forget there are changes to kerbside waste collections over the festive period.
Festive items that must go in the household waste . . .
Unfortunately, tinsel is made from plastics which cannot be recycled. If they pollute the environment, the plastics used to make tinsel can take more than 450 years to decompose, so if you are disposing of it, please put tinsel in your household waste.
Why not try plastic-free tinsel alternatives? Read this blog from Moral Fibres to find out more!
Shiny, metallic or glittery wrapping paper or card can’t be recycled, because it is made from mixed materials which can’t be separated for recycling. If you are unsure, see if it passes the ‘scrunch test’. If you scrunch the paper and it springs back open, it’s made from mixed materials and should go in your household waste.
Remember to save wrapping paper where you can, and consider creatively re-purposing your Christmas cards as gift labels. If you are looking for alternatives, why not explore the Japanese practise of furoshiki: wrapping gifts with fabric? Have a read of keiko furoshiki's blog on the topic for more inspiration!
Due to the use of shiny, metallic or glittery card, Christmas Crackers often can't be recycled. Often, the plastic toys which come with Christmas crackers also have to go into household waste (but check the packaging).
It is best to opt for eco-friendly Christmas Crackers, or why not get creative and make your own? There are plenty of DIY kits available, and you can personalise gifts for individual people!
Items to separate, and recycle out-of-home . . .
Electrical items
Electric waste includes any item that is battery-powered, or used a plug. Currently, the UK produces around 6 million tonnes of electric waste. Fairy lights are a particular problem at Christmas, with 500 tonnes thrown out every year!
They are full of increasingly scarce materials, like gold, silver, copper and platinum. Please bring them to your local HRC to be recycled! You can help reduce resource extraction, and reduce contamination or hazards from incorrect disposal.
Soft plastic packaging
Christmas inevitably produces a lot of packaging, but resist the temptation to bundle it all into household waste! Soft plastic packaging, such as carrier bags, frozen food bags, crisp packets, bread bags, cling film, fruit and vegetable nets, multi-pack packaging, can be taken to soft recycling plastic points located in supermarkets. Remember to make sure they are clean and free of stickers, so they can be broken down properly and turned into new items.
Christmas Trees
You can recycle your Christmas trees at your local HRC! This is certainly the more sustainable option- artificial trees have a carbon footprint more than 10 times the size of real trees that are recycled. Remember to look for trees that are locally grown, FSC certified, and organic.
In other words an artificial tree needs to be used more than 10 times to negate its environmental impact, so why not donate it to a re-use shop if you no longer want it?
Batteries
Batteries can start fires when crushed in recycling, so should never be placed in kerbside bins. Batteries can sometimes be hidden so double check items and recycle them separately and safely at your local HRC or collection points in supermarkets.
This will ensure hazardous materials do not enter the environment, and we can recover precious materials to be re-made into new batteries.
Gas and Helium cylinders
Gas and helium cylinders are considered dangerous waste, as they can cause explosions if damaged during transport or at the processing facilities. Help keep our crews safe by taking them to your local HRC, so we can recycle them safely!
Did you know that many retailers and suppliers will allow you to return your gas bottle for a replacement, once used? Check their websites to find out more about refill, exchange and return programmes.
Full or part-full aerosols
Make sure you’ve got the most out of your aerosols. But if you don’t you can recycle aerosols that are full or part full at your local HRC, just look for the signposted container or ask a member of staff to help.
Make your festive feast more fair for the planet
There is no denying that food is a big part of Christmas, a time of year that is notoriously indulgent. 45% of Brits admit to over-buying Christmas food, (according to BusinessWaste.co.uk), which leads to about 270,000 tonnes of good food being wasted. This includes the equivalent of roughly 2 million turkeys, 72 million mince pies, 11 million roast potatoes, and 5 million pies being binned. We need to change our traditions to make our feasts fairer for the planet- read below for some tips!
When shopping
Food shopping at Christmas is full of dangerous temptations. Try making a meal plan before leaving to make sure you don't over-buy, and be careful of unnecessary supermarket deals.
You could also cut down on food waste and packaging by buying fruit and vegetables loose. Why not try out some of Birmingham's plastic free grocery stores? Or buy your seasonal veggies like sprouts, carrots, parsnips and onions directly from local growers.
When cooking
When cooking, try to optimise all the edible parts of your food! BBC Good Food offers some helpful recipes which transform food scraps like vegetable peel, rind, and leaves into delicious trimmings, garnishes and sauces.
When serving your Christmas dinner, why not go for Family Style serving? This means everyone can choose how much they want on their plate, so less food is wasted!
After eating
After your feast, storing food is really important, so make sure you have tupperware handy and space in your fridge and freezer! Check out Love Food Hate Waste's website for extra information on how to make food last as long as possible.
Turkey sandwiches on boxing day are almost as beloved as Christmas dinner itself, but there are many creative ways to use your leftovers! Check out the Love Food Hate Waste's recipes, which include brussel sprout sauerkraut, turkey and cranberry pie, bubble and speak, and much more!
Eco-Friendly Gift Giving
We are all familiar with that feeling of panic when you've left a week for Christmas shopping, and you just need to make sure you get something special for everyone as soon as possible. But this can lead to unnecessary buys, creating waste. According to the GCVA, on average, everyone receives around 2 unwanted Christmas gifts, and of these, almost one in five unwanted gifts will end up in landfill this Christmas. Here are some tips for stuffing stocking sustainably!
- Buy second-hand. Hunt for gifts in charity shops, or at Community Reuse centres. You can also find pre-loved treasures online, with platforms like Etsy, Depop, Vinted and Ebay.
- Invest in sustainable brands. Shop consciously, with independent brands which prioritise reducing their carbon footprint. Why not check out the smaller Christmas markets around the city, like the Cathedral Square Craft Market, the MAC Christmas market, the Winter Craft Market at the IKON, the Sutton Coldfield Christmas Market, the Stirchly Community Market, or the King's Heath Artisan Christmas Market?
- Gift experiences. Instead of risking a gift that could collect dust, why not gift someone an experience- theatre tickets, a concert, an online subscription, a museum exhibition?
- Gift vouchers. Let your loved ones choose what they want for Christmas! You can also cut out plastic waste by gifting e-vouchers.
- Homemade gift ideas. Learn a skill and add a personal touch by gifting homemade presents. Check out this blog by the Woodland Trust for more ideas!