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CAT Media Department: Press Release
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| We’re dreaming of a green Christmas |
| CAT’s three top tips for Christmas: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. |
| Contact: Arthur Girling (Email) |
Date: 20/11/2006 |
 Christmas has become synonymous with excess – eating and drinking, giving and receiving – and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if everyone on the planet consumed as much as the average Westerner does, we would need 3 planets to support us all. One way you can help to minimise the UK’s ‘ecological footprint’ is to ensure that you reduce, reuse and recycle what you can, helping to make Christmas, and your life as a whole, as sustainable as possible. The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) gives some pointers for a greener Christmas.
Reduce the millions of Christmas trees ending up in landfill sites. The alternatives are to get a tree with roots so it can be potted and reused next year, ensure that your local council will recycle dead trees (many councils grind them down into chips to be used as mulch in parks or gardens), or refrain from buying one altogether – be creative: use branches, paint, cardboard…
Reuse your Christmas decorations. Bring out your old decorations rather than buying new ones every year, turn scratched CDs into personalised decorations, create decorations out of fruit and popcorn which can be fed to hungry birds in the new year.
Recycle Christmas cards and wrapping paper. Many charity shops sell gummed labels to stick over previous messages and addresses and E-cards are an eco alternative to paper based cards. Be creative when wrapping presents – use fabric, magazine pages, aluminium foil that can be reused for cooking, to create beautiful, unique wrapping paper.
Reduce the number of polluting ‘food miles’ your festive meals clock up by buying locally grown or reared produce. Locally produced, organic food tends to taste better too! For those Christmastime essentials from faraway places – i.e. chocolate and coffee - make sure you buy Fairtrade products.
Recycle your scraps. Turn your vegetable peelings, fruit cores and nutshells into fertile compost and avoid unnecessarily using landfill sites. If you avoid composting cooked food, you will not attract unwanted wildlife and it won’t smell. Many local authorities provide free compost bins to encourage this.
Reduce the ecological footprint of your Christmas presents by buying second-hand, vintage or antique gifts. Or treat people to special experiences, such as annual membership to an organisation, a concert or theatre ticket, or a massage. Alternatively, the CAT mail order catalogue is filled with eco-friendly gifts, such as wind-up radios, bags made from recycled materials, and organic cotton products. See the CAT website www.cat.org.uk or call 01654 705959.
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Copyright © 1995-2010 Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited, a company limited by guarantee
Charity no. 265239; Company no. 1090006, registered in Wales; registered office: Llwyngwern, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 9AZ; VAT number: 377 8917 83
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