Month: November 2016

How to have a Zero Waste Christmas

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it is also unfortunately a time of excess waste: packaging, gift wrap, food, and more. However, Christmas doesn’t need to be so wasteful, and it can be just as much fun without all the additional waste. These tips will help you get started with a zero waste Christmas you and your family will never forget.

Gifts

If you’re aspiring to live a zero waste lifestyle, or even to cut down on the waste you produce, Christmas gifts can be a minefield. This will involve tact and patience, but if you truly don’t want any gifts this Christmas, talk to your loved ones and explain to them why. Or, instead, you could request that people buy you presents that will support your zero waste lifestyle, such as:

  • A stainless steel lunchbox
  • Lush toiletries
  • An e-book
  • A plant
  • A course or experience day
  • An IOU for a task or homecooked meal
  • Packaging-free consumables
  • A donation to a charity of your choice
  • Tickets for a concert, movie or sports event (these can often be emailed to the recipient)
  • A spa day
  • Fresh flowers
  • Reusable glass storage jars for the kitchen

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What is your waste recycled into?

We all know that it is important to recycle (and even better to reuse, removing the need to recycle altogether). However, have you ever thought about what happens to the things you recycle once they leave your house or business premises, and what they get turned into once recycled? Focus is always on how important it is to recycle what you can, but not so much on what your waste gets recycled into. Today we thought we’d share that information with you, as it’s pretty interesting. What will the next glass bottle you send for recycling be turned into? How about that can that used to house the baked beans you had with your lunch? Prepare to be surprised.

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How to throw a zero waste kid’s birthday party

Children’s parties are generally synonymous with waste – they bring to mind piles of paper plates full of half-eaten food, broken disposable decorations, and party bags full of cheap plastic tat and sweets. However, this potentially highly wasteful situation can easily be turned around by a few simple changes that won’t cost you any more time or money. The kids won’t even notice the difference, but are perfectly capable of creating that party atmosphere whatever their surroundings anyway. Try some of the changes below:

The party invites

Paper invites aren’t necessary, and often get lost or thrown away before the party anyway. Instead, give all of the parents a quick call to invite their child, or send out a simple invite email. This will take less time than buying, writing and posting paper invites, costs less, and creates no waste. If you’d like to send out fun digital invitations instead, try a service such as Paperless Post.

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