Christmas is a time when most of us like to feel good and party. Our overall increase in consumption means a corollary increase in waste (e.g. wrapping paper, food, etc.), higher energy consumption (e.g. fairy lights, travel for shopping) and so on. This inevitably translates into higher greenhouse gas emissions. We're tried to pull together a few ideas you might want to try that should help reduce your environmental impact over the period without in any way diminishing your enjoyment of the festivities.
To put you in the mood here are a few environmental festive facts (courtesy of Defra). An average Christmas in the UK can generate as much as 3 million tonnes of waste including:
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Around 160,000 tonnes of food waste
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Over 80 square kilometres of wrapping paper (enough to cover an area the size of Guernsey).
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6 million trees
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80,000 tonnes of old clothes & textiles.
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The Royal Mail estimates it will deliver approximately 150,000,000 cards and parcels every day in the run-up to Christmas (that adds up to a massive 1 billion cards for the U.K alone - most of which just end up in the bin).
Follow the links below or in the information menu on the left hand side of this page for more specific information and ideas on how to have a greener Christmas.
- Christmas Cards & Wrapping Paper
- Christmas Fayre
- Christmas Presents
- Christmas Trees
- Decorations & Lights