How to have a Zero Waste Christmas

We all love a good Christmas don’t we? Crackers, loads of tinsel, beautifully wrapped presents, and heaps of delicious food and drink. But with all this good cheer have you ever thought about the impact Christmas has on our planet? It is estimated that Australians are going to spend over $22.1 billion dollars this year just on Christmas – wrapping, christmas crackers, throwaway gifts …the list goes on. Christmas happens but once a year but the plastic that comes with it can last up to 1000 years in landfill! Here are a few simple ways you can reduce your environmental footprint this Christmas:

Stop buying cling film and invest in BPA free reusable containers or use beeswax wraps which will keep those leftovers fresh for Boxing Day. Try Ever Eco Bento Stainless Steel Boxes or Apriwraps – beautifully printed organic cottons coated with a unique compound of natural food ingredients to create traditional waxed cotton kitchen wraps. Apiwraps seal onto themselves, on to glass, metal & crockery. They can be used to cover a bowl of left overs in the fridge, wrap a sandwich for work, seal up half a watermelon or to wrap delicate herbs to store.

Yep Christmas is messy but forget the ‘handee’ paper towel in plastic wrapping and use Sumo Ecoleaf Jumbo Kitchen Towel instead. Made from 100% recycled fibre produced from a mix of consumer and trade waste using chlorine-free processing. The towel comes in 100% compostable wrap making the packaging sustainable, renewable, non-polluting and non-toxic. This super-absorbent, great value jumbo roll lasts as long as three regular kitchen rolls. Ecoleaf work in partnership with Treesponsibility to minimize the environmental impact of their products.

Not keen on washing up all those plates and cutlery??? Don’t head to the supermarket ailse for those environmentally unfriendly plastic picnic items use World Centric compostible paper plates and cutlery. The paper plates are made from gluten free wheat straw and the utensils are made from PLA plastic made from cornstarch. Both are certified compostable.

Ok so Christmas cards CAN be recycled – but think of the environmental impact of all that ink and trees needed to produce these cards – feel extra good when sending a card using Deer Daisy environmentally conscious stationary. The #1 driving motive at Deer Daisy is to create beautiful stationery that will not cost the planet. All Deer Daisy stationery is printed on 100% recycled materials using vegetable-based inks and Green Electricity.

Planning on baking up a storm this Christmas? Forget the chemical laden foil and baking paper and reach for the If You Care Baking Parchment and If You Care Heavy Duty Aluminium Foil. The baking parchment is natural, GMO and flurorochemical free and made from unbleached totally chlorine-free greaseproof paper. Use for baking, roasting, reheating in the microwave and wrapping. The Aluminum Foil is made with 100% recycled aluminum. While traditional foil manufacturing is a power-intensive process, this foil uses 95% less energy to produce. Because there is no need to mine, production of this product creates less waste, while reusing a precious resource. This foil protects food against light, oxygen, humidity and bacteria and is thicker, stronger and wider than standard foil so is perfect for BBQs, grill and oven use. Plus it can be recycled again!

No need to spend a fortune on that throwaway Chrissy wrapping with matching bows. Why not give your gifts in a beautiful coloured biodegradable cotton string bag instead – two gifts in one! 100% biodegradable, recyclable and compostable these bags are a great eco friendly alternative for your regular trips to the shops. With a woven netting design the cotton bags are compact, lightweight yet strong and are able to stretch to hold up to 14kgs while securely holding onto all your goodies.

If we all focus less on the material side and more on the experience of Christmas not only would us as the custodians of this planet be happy, but our planet would be happy too!

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