Make your Christmas greener
At Christmas we often create more waste (good examples are wrapping paper, packaging and food).
We want to encourage our residents to support a circular economy this Christmas, which means using less and reusing, repairing and recycling more. This is good for the planet and good for your pocket.
We have some top tips for making your Christmas greener below.
Meanwhile, the Carbon Trust website has even more tips, including interesting information about whether real or artificial trees are better for the environment.
Our top tips for a greener Christmas
Consider buying used
Instead of buying new gifts, shop for used items at:
- charity shops
- antique shops
- websites like eBay, Vinted or Facebook Marketplace
You’ll save money and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time!
Shop local
Reduce your emissions and support small and local businesses.
Go out on foot to local shops, farmer’s markets or family-owned businesses for unique finds.
Minimise food waste
Buy only what you need and get creative with leftovers.
If you have bought too much, consider donating to a local food bank or use a food sharing app such as Surplus to Supper or OLIO.
If there's food waste you can't avoid, make sure you recycle it in your food waste bin.
Donate
With all the new toys or clothes your family might receive over the Christmas period, consider donating, recycling or selling old or unwanted items.
Buy recyclable wrapping paper and Christmas cards
You can't recycle shiny, glittery or foil wrapping paper and Christmas cards.
Buy wrapping paper that you can scrunch. If it stays scrunched, you can recycle it.
When you're recycling wrapping paper, remove all sticky tape, labels and decorations.
Get LED lights for your tree
Swap out incandescent lights for LED lights on your Christmas tree.
Surprisingly, if every UK household did this, we could save more than £11 million or 29,000 tonnes of CO2 over just the 12 days of Christmas!
LED lights use up to 80% less energy than incandescent lights, so provide a great opportunity to save money and reduce your carbon footprint.
Recycle more
Rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle. Our priority should always be to buy, consume and waste less.
You might not know we can collect these common household items from your home:
You can use our Waste Wizard tool to find out what you can recycle and how.
