Going green: Have yourself a merry little Christmas while staying green

​The planet suffers too. Christmas traditions can create mountains of waste, from the excess packaging on gifts and sweets, to the millions of Christmas trees thrown away after the festivities and the tonnes of leftover food.

But as we’re becoming more aware of the damage, many people are embracing ways to reduce spending and celebrate responsibly, Here are some top ideas to enjoy a fun festive season that’s also environmentally friendly.

1. Pick a Christmas tree with roots – Artificial trees can be reused for years, but they’re made of non-biodegradable plastics and are often shipped long distances before they reach our living rooms. If you already have one, reuse it as long as possible to reduce its environmental impact. But if you’re one of the seven million Brits who buy a real tree every year, choose a sustainably grown one from a local farm, preferably one with roots attached that can be replanted.

2. Deck the halls with eco-friendly decorations – If you’re buying new Christmas decorations, avoid ones made of plastic and synthetic materials. Instead, try making your own decorations from wood or card or other natural materials. We throw away over 500 tonnes of fairy lights each year in the UK, so try to buy good quality LED lights which are more energy-efficient and will last longer.

3. Gift responsibly – Presents are a huge part of Christmas, but they often lead to excessive packaging and waste in the form of unwanted gifts. Choose preloved and pick toys made from natural materials instead of plastic, with as little packaging as possible. And for toys that need batteries, buy a set of rechargeables. Also, consider giving someone you love an ‘experience’ with lower environmental impact, like cooking classes or concert tickets.

4. Choose sustainable wrapping and crackers – Wrapping paper coated in plastic and glitter is unrecyclable. Instead, try using plain brown paper, old maps, magazines or newspapers, or reusable fabric to wrap presents. Stamps and ribbons can add a final flourish. You can also choose FSC-certified, recycled Christmas crackers which contain sustainable gifts instead of the plastic toys which nearly everyone throws away.

5. Reduce food Waste – A large amount of food waste occurs over the Christmas period, but with a bit of planning, you can avoid buying and therefore spending more than you need. Composting leftovers is another way to reduce waste and help gardens at the same time.

7. Shop local and buy Less – Many Xmas goods are imported, meaning carbon footprint is higher. Avoid this by buying handmade crafts or local produce for meals. Buy fewer, high-quality items that will last and reduce waste. Shopping locally also supports your high street.

Celebrity spot

Prince William recently announced the five winners of his 2024 Earthshot Prize at a ceremony in Cape Town. The winners submitted projects offering solutions to urgent environmental challenges, and each received £1 million. The winning businesses included an African refrigeration business, a conservation initiative in Kazakhstan and new technology that converts industrial heat waste into electricity. In announcing the winners, Prince William said: “they are lighting the path for a sustainable future for us all.”

Visit https://earthshotprize.org website.

Green swap

Ditch your plastic-based disposable wipes and try using compostable ones instead. Traditional wipes contain chemicals and microplastics which don’t break down and end up clogging our sewers and polluting waterways.

Visit https://www.envirotech-online.com/news/water-wastewater/9/breaking-news/should-we-ditch-wet-wipes/46063#:~:text=The%20vast%20majority%20of%20wet,300%2C000%20sewer%20blockages%20every%20year site.

Save energy by efficiently heating just one room

So many of us are working from home nowadays and it’s easy to forget that heating our whole house or flat all day long is expensive and environmentally damaging. Firstly, only have the heating on when at home. If you have a smaller home, then gas central heating is the most efficient way to stay warm. If your radiators have thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs), you can turn down the heat in unoccupied rooms and only heat the rooms you’re using to around 19C.

However, if you have a big house, or rely on oil or LPG fuel, it can make economic sense to turn the whole heating system down and just use a standalone room heater for the room you are actually using. Keeping just one room warm and cosy can make a big difference to your energy bill. You can also use heated blankets to keep the person warm, which is again cheaper option.

There are different sizes of heater, so make sure you choose the right size of heater for the room you’ll be using it in – the manufacturer’s guide should help you estimate the space. Don’t buy one that’s too small or you’ll have a high running cost but not feel much warmer. Also, buy one that lets you control the temperature and the time you have the heater on, as they’re usually cheaper to run. Always follow the operating instructions, particularly to avoid the risk of fire.

I like oil heaters, which are electric heaters filled with heat retaining oil. They’re excellent at retaining heat and are very efficient so it only takes a small amount of energy to top them up.

Convection heaters are another option and electric fan heaters are good for dispersing the heat around the room. Devices that rely on heating fuel, as well as movable bottled gas heaters, known as LPG heaters, are not energy-efficient, so avoid these where you can.

According to uswitch.com, if you’re working in a room with a gas fire, it’s only worth using this instead of your central heating if the room is less than a third of the size of your home. While a modern central heating boiler might have an efficiency of 90 per cent, a gas fire might only be around 50 per cent to 60 per cent efficient, and an open flame gas fire as little as 30 per cent efficient or lower. This is because a lot of heat is lost up the chimney or flue. A gas fire also needs adequate ventilation to operate safely, which also contributes to the loss of warmth.

Remember that draughts are your enemy, and a well-insulated home is less reliant on heating to stay warm. Read the charity One Home’s guide to home insulation and see how much money you could save by insulating your roof, walls or floors.

Visit https://www.uswitch.com/energy-efficiency/heat-the-whole-house-or-one-room/#step1 site.

Visit https://onehome.org.uk/topics/your-home-topics/energy-saving/what-s-the-most-efficient-way-of-using-heating-while-working-from-home/ site.

Fact or fiction

“The flooding in Spain was made worse by the recent droughts there”.

FACT.

Intense heat in Spain during the summer contributed to the recent floods by creating more atmospheric moisture and ‘baking’ the soil so that it couldn’t absorb rain.

Visit https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/30/spain-deadly-floods-and-severe-droughts-are-two-faces-of-the-climate-change-coin site.