The Christmas festive season can be a burden on the planet. All those presents, all that food… it’s a time of excess that increases our eco footprint in a big way. But with a bit of effort and some small lifestyle tweaks, it isn’t hard to make our holiday season more eco-friendly.
We went over some awesome products that keep your home compost friendly over the holidays in this article. Now today we want to go through some steps to make your holidays kinder to the environment. Let’s dive in!
Compost Your Food Waste
Instead of sending all your Christmas food waste to landfill, where it produces harmful greenhouse gases, compost it! A worm farm from Subpod is the ‘go anywhere’ home composting system that’s easy to set up and use. It produces nutrient rich compost to rebuild your soil and nourish your kitchen garden. It’s a win-win for you and the planet… and if you’re stuck for gift ideas, you can give the gift of Subpod!
Go Eco on the Christmas Tree
A mass-produced plastic Christmas tree that breaks after a year isn’t the most environmentally friendly option. Depending on where you live, you can go to a Christmas tree farm and purchase an intentionally grown tree for your home. When January comes, you can chop it up and use it as mulch in your garden.
Another eco-option is to buy a potted tree that you look after and reuse year after year. Or, you could rent a tree for Christmas!
Conscious Gift Giving
When shopping for gifts, it’s not that hard to be more ‘green’ with your purchases. Firstly, look for locally made products. This means they haven’t been transported around the world and added to greenhouse emissions. You could also look for gifts that come from recycled sources to help reduce the waste stream.
Avoid battery powered gifts, as discarded batteries are pretty nasty out there in the environment. Lastly, give wisely. So many unwanted products end up tossed in the bin and find their way to landfill after Christmas. If you give presents that people need and want this is much less likely to happen.
Wrap It Right
A lot of wrapping paper can’t be recycled. Biodegradable kraft paper is a nice, rustic alternative to the traditional glossy paper. You could also use a fabric wrapping, a reusable box or basket, or even magazines and newspapers to present your gifts in. Then instead of tossing your wrapping paper in the bin when the fun is over, why not shred it and compost it? Paper or cardboard is a great source of carbon for your compost bin or worm farm. Just make sure it’s not too glossy or waxy.
Go Easy on the Lighting
Christmas lighting is a big drain on natural resources, and given current energy prices will put upward pressure on your household costs. We’re not saying having a dark Christmas, but just implement a couple of little changes.
If you want an outside light display, reduce the size of the lights and the display itself. Stick to LED lights, as they’re much more energy efficient. Don’t have your Christmas lights on 24/7 either, just opt for a couple of hours each evening and remember to turn them off before you go to bed.
Go Natural
Instead of buying plastic decorations and ornaments that have been shipped across the globe, why not make your own from natural ingredients? It’s a great bonding exercise with the family too. You can use river stones, branches, pine cones, dried flowers and so on. Having good quality family heirloom decorations that emerge year after year is also an eco-friendly option!
There are a few tips that we hope help keep your holidays a bit more green and eco-conscious! If you’re looking for activities, why not start up planet-friendly traditions that help instil an appreciation of nature in your family? If you’ve got young kids, now is the time to teach them the concepts of sustainability and eco-living. Examples are nature hikes, bird watching, bird feeding or planting natural trees together.
Above all, in everything you do, be safe and have a good time. We’ll see you next year to share more composting knowledge and environmental news!
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