Limiting waste in the festive season
With Christmas just around the corner, it seems like a good time to have a think about the ways in which we can all limit the waste that we create in this excessively consumerist season.
Whilst we don’t all want to turn into Ebenezer Scrooge, there are more than a few ways in which we can have fun this Christmas without leaving too much of a carbon footprint. So here’s a few tips about how we can limit our wastage without skimping on the festive turkey!
Upcycling is a massive trend that has hit the UK recently. Thanks to the rise of the shabby-chic aesthetic, many of us are getting crafty and learning ways in which we can fix and re-energise old and worn out household products rather than simply throwing them out.
Whether it be a turning a colander into a chic and modernist lampshade, or even making a rug out of balloons, upcycling is a great way to stay creative, and limit our waste.
Christmas decorations are notoriously wasteful in their use of 
plastics and the speed with which we throw them away. Artificial Christmas trees have been shown to be much more wasteful than real trees, but it’s also important to make sure that when selecting your Christmas tree, that it comes from an area that uses established replanting methods.
Similarly, the excessive use of Christmas lighting has been shown to cost us the equivalent to 22.8 days electricity. So it’s maybe time to think about revisiting a simple, almost-Victorian aesthetic in your Christmas home for a humbler, and more eco-friendly atmosphere.
The rise of sales culture has meant that many of us are all too keen to throw away old products and fill our nation’s landfill sites. This is why it’s often a good idea when purchasing products in New Year’s sales to make sure that the seller has a responsible recycling scheme. Many retailers such as Bedstar offer a recycling and removal service that’ll not only limit your carbon footprint, also mean that you don’t have to spend your holidays going to and fro the skip either.
Having a good clear-out after the festive excess is something that we all indulge in. But rather than simply taking everything to the tip, dump or Household Waste Recycling Facility (call it what you will), be sure to retain anything with value, and visit the Charity Retail website to find out which charity shops near you are taking donations, as a little bit of effort can go a long way in limiting all of our waste this Christmas.
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