From Christmas trees you can replant to cooking delicious dishes with turkey leftovers; Sustainable Merton share their top tips on how to have a green Christmas.
It’s still not too late to think about how you can make your Christmas more sustainable. It’s not about having a less enjoyable celebration or getting rid of all the fun associated with presents and Christmas trees. We want to share all the merriness with our family and friends, while we don’t feel terrible thinking about all the waste we are creating. Here are some ideas that hopefully will inspire you to go green this Christmas.
Getting virtual gifts that don’t need wrapping is a great way to reduce consumption and plastic waste. There are hundreds of options for all ages from yoga lessons; to music; to a meditation app; to a subscription; to an online paper… It can also be great fun, how about a cooking lesson at home for the whole family or for a group of friends?
There are numerous places where you can now buy a potted tree with roots, that you can then keep in your garden and use year after year. If you don’t have a garden you can also rent a Christmas tree. Garden centres and tree growers would normally offer delivery and collection. There are plenty of other ideas on how to create a sustainable Christmas tree, and the bureau of Merton also offers a recycling service.
It’s almost inevitable that our food waste over Christmas is the highest throughout the year. Merton offers a service to pick up food waste, but you can also make your own compost out of food leftovers. In fact, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, grains, bread, coffee filters, egg shells and meats can be composted. You’ll need to buy one of the many compost bins currently available in the market, but apart from that the process is fairly simple. Otherwise, how about trying some leftover recipes? This could be the right time for you to taste turkey enchiladas, turkey salad or turkey chilli!
Have a merry and sustainable Christmas!
If you are interested in joining Sustainable Merton as a Community Champion to spread the word about what we can each do to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and want to find out more about the work we do to improve sustainability in Merton, please visit www.sustainablemerton.org, or get in touch at info@sustainablemerton.org.
Contributor: Blanca | Sustainable Merton Community Champion
Facebook: @SustainableMerton
Instagram: @SustainableMerton
Twitter: @SustainableMert
