Midsomer Norton Life - Winter 2022

HAVE A GREEN CHRISTMAS

Forget about having a white Christmas, this year, go green and have an eco friendly event!

With everyone being a little more environmentally conscience these days, here are some top tips to make sure that your Christmas has a big impact on the family and a little one on the world around you.

• One way to be eco friendly is to wrap presents using recyclable paper.

Bows and ribbons aren’t biodegradable and neither is glittery paper. Why not use brown paper or reuse paper from previous years? You can even make your own tags using recyclable or reusable materials.

• Look out for eco friendly Christmas Crackers.

Many shops are now offering reusable crackers that can come out every year. Alternatively, you can use crackers that don’t contain plastic or anything that isn’t recyclable.

• Choose your Christmas tree carefully

When it comes to trees, many of us use artificial trees that can be reused every year, which is better than replacing a tree every year, but to reduce your plastic waste, having a real tree is better. Not all real trees are created equal though, if you’re going for real over artificial this year, look out for trees that are FSC certified and reduce your carbon footprint by staying local. Once the Christmas season is over, some Christmas tree producers will take the trees back and replant them or you can take them to a recycling centre where it can be shredded and used in other products. Look out for local animal centres, including zoos and conservation centres, as they are always keen to have fresh trees as enrichment for the animals.

• Decorate with the environment in mind.

Much like Christmas trees, many decorations contain non recyclable materials which end up in landfill when they are thrown away. Try using natural decorations like holly branches and pine cones from your garden or local park. You can also use LED fairy lights to lower your energy use and get solar powered outdoor lights for your gardens and windows.

• Eco friendly Christmas cards.

Rather than buying cards that are plastic wrapped or covered in material that can’t be recycled, why not make your own cards? You can reuse cards from the year before to make your own unique designs or get some card or paper and get creative! We all love receiving post but to really lower your environmental impact, rather than buying cards, make a donation to a local charity instead.

• Sustainable Christmas dinner

We always go overboard and end up with too much food at Christmas. Try to reduce waste by making meal plans for using up any left overs and be as sustainable as possible when choosing your ingredients – such as getting your meat from local suppliers or checking its credentials when buying.