With Halloween over, we’re all looking forward to the next major holiday – Christmas. ‘Tis, the time of Christmas trees, presents and Michael Bublé. ‘Tis also the most unsustainable holiday of the year. Christmas has become a time of excess and waste and devoted to shopping, making it one of the most wasteful days of the year.
The average amount of waste produced per person during Christmas is shocking:
- Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, Americans produce 25% more trash than usual.
- This additional garbage amounts to 25,000,000 tons per year or roughly 1,000,000 tons per week.
- Every year, Americans buy 2.65 billion Christmas cards, which would be enough to stack a football field’s worth of cards 10 stories high.
Although the winter holidays are a happy time for most people, they result in increased trash and pollution at landfills. But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom! You can easily get the jollies back and have a less wasteful Christmas this year by implementing one (or all) of these easy ways to go green.
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H2: Minimise Wrapping Waste
Most people only use wrapping paper once before tossing it. That’s a lot of waste. What if this year, you use old maps or the Sunday comics to decorate larger presents and colorful pages from magazines for smaller presents?
Use decorative tins, baskets, or boxes instead of paper to save trees. Make sure the wrapping paper you purchase is made from recycled paper if you decide to buy some. Ribbons made of washable material are preferable to plastic bows for this purpose. As a final step, please unwrap presents with care and store the wrappings for next year’s use.
H2: Give Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Gifts
There are many great eco-friendly products on the market that can help you go green, save money and reduce your environmental impact. These products also make great Christmas presents!
You can, for example, opt for eco-friendly bath soaps and bath bombs. The soap boxes are made from recyclable and biodegradable materials. They help keep the soap safe and contribute to environmental sustainability.
H2: Rent A Real Christmas Tree
When it comes to choosing the most eco-friendly Christmas tree, real trees are the clear winner over artificial alternatives. Real trees are a renewable resource that is grown specifically for the purpose of being used as Christmas trees. On the other hand, artificial trees are made from petroleum-based plastics that can take hundreds of years to break down.
Moreover, real trees provide important ecological benefits such as:
- providing habitat for wildlife
- helping to prevent soil erosion
- mulch or compost after they’ve served their holiday purpose and have been recycled.
So when you’re looking for the most sustainable option this Christmas, choose a real tree!
H2: Easy Ways To Go Green In Your Everyday Life
One of the best ways to go green every day, and not just on Christmas, is to be more mindful of your impact on the environment. You can reduce your energy consumption by:
- turning off lights when you leave a room
- unplugging electronic devices when they’re not in use
- wearing layers of clothing instead of turning on the heat.
You can also save water by taking shorter showers and fixing leaks and irrigation systems. And recycle and compost as much as possible to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills.
“What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store ….”
We can all do our part this year to go green, save money and make Christmas mean a little bit more. Don’t be a grinch, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the season while keeping your environmental impact low. In fact, many of these tips will save you money as well! So why not try some of these ideas for a sustainable and eco-friendly Christmas in 2022?
