{"id":46306,"date":"2018-12-14T12:32:51","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T20:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=46306"},"modified":"2018-12-14T12:32:51","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T20:32:51","slug":"dreaming-of-a-green-christmas-here-are-five-ways-to-make-it-more-sustainable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/dreaming-of-a-green-christmas-here-are-five-ways-to-make-it-more-sustainable\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreaming of a green Christmas? Here are five ways to make it more sustainable"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nModeration is the last thing on people\u2019s minds at Christmas. Shopping, travelling and eating reach peak levels \u2013 putting pressure on our planet. Even Santa poses a problem. If you don\u2019t believe in flying reindeers, that sleigh must be rocket-fuelled to reach the supersonic speeds needed to travel around the world to visit\u00a0hundreds of millions of children<\/a>\u00a0in just one night using conventional engineering.<\/p>\n

The example goes to show just how many presents we buy and send each Christmas \u2013 creating problems with packaging and transport. And as\u00a0the population increases<\/a>, so does the pile of presents. To get round this, presents have got smaller and virtual gifts such as an\u00a0experience day<\/a>\u00a0have risen in popularity.<\/p>\n

This has an added benefit of reducing packaging and transport problems. But virtual presents have a carbon footprint too. Electronic downloads\u00a0still have an impact<\/a>, as data has to be stored and transferred, using energy. So everything we buy has some impact, even through the electronic process of buying.<\/p>\n

So how can we have a greener, more sustainable but generous Christmas? Here are five gold circular things!<\/p>\n

1. Reduce food waste<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The amount of food wasted at Christmas has a\u00a0massive carbon (and water) footprint<\/a>. Using less and storing excess in a winter wonderland \u2013 your freezer \u2013 is a great way to avoid waste. If leftover food doesn\u2019t go in the freezer, cooked turkey and vegetables will keep for up to three days in the fridge.<\/p>\n

However, not producing excess in the first place is the best way to avoid waste. Portion size is a big part of this and so is cooking things you actually like. Just because something is traditional does not make it compulsory. For instance, sprouts can be very controversial \u2013 so, if you don\u2019t like them, skip them. You could also try an alternative to the traditional meat option, such as a nut roast. Vegetarian and vegan choices at the Christmas dinner table can massively\u00a0cut the impact of your Christmas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Cut down on packaging<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Lower the impact of gifts through choices of paper and packaging. A lot of seasonal wrapping is non-recyclable as it is coated in plastic. This is concerning as plastic tends to spread everywhere \u2013 it has\u00a0even been detected at the North Pole<\/a>. A better approach would be to use wrapping paper made entirely out of paper. Gift bags are another great option \u2013 they can be reused and therefore help cut a massive amount of waste.<\/p>\n

3. Buy ethically<\/strong><\/h4>\n

You can give twice if you buy your presents second hand from charity shops \u2013 supporting worthwhile projects while also reducing consumption. You can also buy locally produced goods and support your local economy. Buying second hand potentially halves the carbon footprint. A typical T-shirt alone has a footprint of around 8.77kg of carbon dioxide and 2700 litres of water. If 1% of the 55.6m people in England alone bought just one second-hand T-shirt instead of a new one, they would be saving around 4.9m tonnes of carbon dioxide, the\u00a0equivalent<\/a>\u00a0of driving 1,049 passenger cars for a year, and a whopping 1.5 billion litres of water.<\/p>\n

4. Reuse Christmas stuff<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Christmas decorations and fashion are basically the same every year. So celebrate your Christmas collection and reuse it, over and over again. It is a tragedy that\u00a0only one in four<\/a>Christmas jumpers are ever reused. According to the\u00a0Carbon Trust<\/a>, an artificial tree needs to be used around 10 times to have an equivalent footprint as its real counterpart.<\/p>\n

5. It\u2019s the thought that counts<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There are few holidays that are so focused on being caring, helpful and generous as Christmas. So celebrate this and try to avoid buying unnecessary stuff that people don\u2019t want anyway. Donations and acts of kindness really lighten the load on that sleigh. A colleague once\u00a0bought me a toilet for a family in Sierra Leone<\/a>. No wrapping, no plastic: the best present ever \u2013 and Santa didn\u2019t have to lift a finger!<\/p>\n

Author Bio: <\/strong>Sharon George is a Lecturer in Environmental Science at Keele University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moderation is the last thing on people\u2019s minds at Christmas. Shopping, travelling and eating reach peak levels \u2013 putting pressure on our planet. Even Santa poses a problem. If you don\u2019t believe in flying reindeers, that sleigh must be rocket-fuelled to reach the supersonic speeds needed to travel around the world to visit\u00a0hundreds of millions […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":46307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65893],"tags":[224532],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-46306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability","tag-sustainable-christmas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDreaming of a green Christmas? 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