Have yourself a Sustainable Christmas!

Working at Buckinghamshire Council, no matter which department you’re in, you are part of something bigger and you’ll realise the positive impact small changes can have on your community. Ellie from the Waste Prevention team has learnt so much from her amazing work and would love to share her top tips on how to recycle more and waste less at Christmas.

Hi, I’m Ellie Powell and I work in the Waste Prevention Department. Our main aim is to encourage Buckinghamshire residents to recycle more and waste less. I have two children (aged 8 and 10) who I am trying to encourage to not only recycle but also think about their decisions as they grow up and become conscious consumers and citizens.

I think most people are aware of the climate crisis and that we need to start making some big decisions to help tackle it. But also, that lots of individual decisions can be the start to behaviour change needed. I was on a webinar a few weeks ago run by Suez, and a point they made which resonated with me was about the variety of plant-based food you can now buy in supermarkets that just wasn’t available 5 years ago. This is a great example of people power — the supermarkets are responding to consumer demand!

At Christmas time it’s all too easy to buy, buy, buy. Which fuels the issues of consumerism and creates excess waste, and goods (most of which I think we can agree we probably don’t need). I, for one, struggle with trying to balance making Christmas magical for my children and being a conscious consumer.

Here are a few of my top tips on how to have a more sustainable Christmas:

Cards

Instead of sending cards, the last few years my kids have drawn a festive picture and I take a picture of them by our tree. Or donate to charity (instead of the cost of cards and stamps) and put a social post out there.

Wrapping

In the UK we use 227,000 miles of wrapping paper at Christmas! And let’s face it, most of that is screwed up, and put in the recycling bin. I have started wrapping in fabric — there is a Japanese technique called Furoshiki, which is wrapping presents in cloth. Last year I bought a curtain from a charity shop for £1 and chopped it up to use. I gathered it all up at the end of the day too, to use again this year. A friend of mine uses old maps to wrap her presents in — which also looks great!

Furoshiki / cloth wrapped presents

Decorations

During 2020 I was on furlough (from my previous job) so had more time than usual in the build up to Christmas so I decided to see what decorations I could make. I made a hanging stick Christmas tree (and then made some for my mum, mother-in-law & friends). These look great with natural decorations on — like dried orange, leaves, rosemary. All they take is twigs and twine. I also made reindeer out of corks, and even mini woolly hat tree decorations!

Homemade cork reindeer; woolly hat tree decorations using just toilet rolls, wool & a bit of tissue paper; and my twig tree, with (mostly) homemade decorations.

Presents

Probably the hardest area to tackle, here are a few suggestions:

Second hand — eBay, World of Books, or Vinted (I love vinted at the mo!) are great ways to shop second-hand, and you can search exactly what you’re looking for. There are some amazing charity shops around Bucks to get gifts from — board games, plant pots, vases, clothes, accessories, the list goes on but you’ll be guaranteed to find something unique. My extended family has agreed to my suggestion of a second-hand Secret Santa this year.

Charity donations — my dad is of the age where he doesn’t need anything (although he always appreciates a Toblerone bar) so for the last few birthdays and Christmas we have donated on his behalf to the RNLI. The Big Give is a match funding platform who will (as you might expect) match monetary donations to charities (often lesser-known charities) and they have a ‘Christmas Challenge’ where they match 4x the amount donated. Last Christmas my mum adopted an animal for both my kids via the WWF, they love getting updates on Dorothy (the dolphin) and Roger (the jaguar).

Homemade — I made a few items for my family last Christmas, including a candle (using an old baked bean tin, wrapped in twine) and 2 refill soap dispensers from old booze bottles.

Refillable soap dispensers; homemade candle — using a Baked beans tin, twine & dried oranges

Experiences — this can be anything to suit your budget from theatre tickets, membership (to the zoo or national trust), wine tasting or even a meal out voucher.

If you do buy new — try to shop local & independent. There are so many small businesses popping up now, which I love, even more so when they use recycled materials to make their products.

Food

Try to get the portions/amounts right. There are some great websites out there that can help. Try swapping some meat options for plant based. Use your freezer to save anything not eaten — a great ready meal option for when you need it! And make sure you recycle your food waste for any plate scraps.

Finally, think about the future — what can YOU do next year? Can you reduce your meat consumption — just by a few meals per week (and encourage others to do the same). Look at where your money is (most high street banks still invest in fossil fuels — let your money do the talking!). Drive less — can you walk to work, or cycle or take the bus? Or simply buy less ‘stuff.’ We all have a part to play in protecting the world around us for future generations.

If you’re interested in a role where you can make a difference to your community, check out our vacancies here: Buckinghamshire Council Jobs | Find a job in Buckinghamshire