New Delhi: We know it’s Christmas time and fun and frolic surrounds the air, but along with it we must remember to be responsible citizens as well and try to have a sustainable Christmas in the best possible way. One of the best things you can do to safeguard the environment and public health is to live more sustainably. Especially around the holidays, it’s critical to live a sustainable lifestyle that safeguards people, animals, and the environment.
Fortunately, there are lots of options and approaches for an environmentally friendly, ethical, and green Christmas. Here are some incredibly simple and useful suggestions for a more responsible and environmentally friendly Christmas.
1. Use Eco-friendly Christmas Decor:
Using eco-friendly ornaments for your Christmas Tree is one of the finest ways to have a greener Christmas. You can use reusable decor in place of single-use plastic items. Also, once the festival is over you can save all of your decorative items for the following year and not throw them away.
Another interesting way to be eco-friendly is to create your own Christmas decorations. Not only is it saving the environment but it is also pocket-friendly. You can create your decors by using waste paper, and other recyclable materials such as cloth, and natural, seasonal decorations.
The most attractive, long-lasting, and distinctive eco-friendly Christmas decorations are made from sustainable materials as you can reuse them the following year as well and if it’s made by you, it becomes all the more special.
2. Use Minimal Packaging For Gifts:
227,000 miles of wrapping paper are used each year, that’s enough to go around the world 9 times! You can use minimum packaging to wrap your gifts and avoid using plastic. Going for a no-wrapped gift will be the best option but if at all you want to wrap it up, you may use eco-friendly wrappers that can be recycled or reused again and do not have an adverse effect on the environment.
Plastic packaging waste is difficult to recycle and takes a long time to disintegrate. Whenever possible, try to purchase items in bulk without any packaging. To encourage recycling, reduce waste, and save time and money, you can choose goods that are manufactured from recycled materials.
3. Try To Make Compost:
What is the fun of festivals without food, Christmas is no exception. People indulge in a lot of eating during these festive times and as a result, a lot of food waste is also generated. To use these food wastes in a sustainable manner instead of just throwing them away, you can try to convert them into compost.
Get a wormery or compost all of your food scraps to help turn vegetable food waste into nutritious soil. Composting provides a lot of advantages, such as improving soil, cutting landfill methane emissions, and reducing the carbon footprint.
4. Minimise The Use Of Plastics:
The environment is severely harmed by single-use plastics and it is critical to reduce the amount of trash, particularly plastic.
Reusable containers and bags can help you have a greener Christmas by reducing the amount of plastic you consume, and putting containers to use again rather than discarding them.
In addition to that, you can also use glass cutlery sets instead of any single-use plastic material. Wooden spoons can be used as well. Also, A replace single-use towels, tissues, and napkins with cotton cloths that are stronger and more environmentally friendly. They are also machine washable and reusable numerous times.
5. Donate Gifts And Clothes:
We all must have a lot of things at home that we do not use, some of them might be new, others old but all of them are stacked up in a corner of our house. Instead of wasting all those things, you can donate them to someone who really needs them. So while you are receiving new gifts this year, go through your closet and wardrobe to sort out the unwanted things, outdated clothes, and other items you won’t use, and give them to nearby organisations. Your unused coat can be useful to a homeless person during this chilly winter.
6. Avoid Using A Plastic Christmas Tree:
At all costs, avoid purchasing a plastic Christmas tree. Opt for a much superior sustainable alternative instead. Additionally, you can buy a tree in a container and reuse it the following season. A potted tree is a wonderful way to preserve the environment and also makes a thoughtful garden present.
You may even rent a Christmas tree in some places, take care of it throughout the festive season and then give it back to be planted and utilised again the following year.
7. Try To Minimise The Wastage Of Food During Christmas:
Each Christmas, an estimated 74 million mince pies, 2 million turkeys, and 5 million puddings are wasted. This follows a pattern in which one-third of the food produced each year is wasted. We must consider food waste when designing a food system that can feed our expanding population while lowering greenhouse gas emissions and safeguarding natural resources.
Let’s minimise food waste at home this holiday season and make the most of our leftovers. To minimise food waste, the first thing we can do is cook as much as we require by counting the number of guests that are estimated to be present. If there is any leftover food, we can give it to somebody in need instead of just throwing it away and wasting it.
