Colourful fabrics can be used to wrap Christmas gifts instead of wrapping paper.
Do you sometimes feel a little uncomfortable this time of year about buying gifts for friends, family and work mates, that may only be used once or twice before being thrown away?
Celebrations are great for reconnecting with those special people in our lives, but can also bring waste in many forms. On top of the gifts with a short lifespan, there’s the tinsel, glitter, wrapping paper and decorations, as well as the uneaten food and the packaging that comes with it. But more and more, we’re learning this doesn’t need to be the case.
There are many easy ways to reduce our waste, from thoughtful gifts such as experiences, to making a quick plan to help you prepare the right amount of food. Take a look at the tips below from Tauranga City Council's Sustainability and Waste team to try at home these holidays.
Zero waste gift guide:
Avoid
The best way to reduce your waste is to avoid creating it in the first place. Memories last a lifetime so try gifting a voucher to a restaurant or the cinema, a club membership, or a sports registration. Or why not give the gift of learning with a voucher to learn a language or an instrument.
Reduce
Everyone enjoys receiving gifts, but thinking quality over quantity helps reduce waste. Kids don’t need 20 different items - they’ll be most excited by the few things they really want. Setting lower expectations about the amount of gifts to expect at Christmas is a great way to prevent over-consumption and reduce our total impact on our planet.
Second hand
Buying second hand is a great option. There are plenty of treasures to be found online and in-store, and some second hand retailers are very selective about what they sell - ensuring good quality. Or get the kids a membership to your local Toy Library so they get new toys every fortnight.
Go compostable or natural
Before purchasing an item, think about what will happen when you’ve finished using it. If it’s made of natural materials, it will eventually break down back into soil one day. Also, production of plastics and metals often generate huge carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, so avoid these materials where possible, or look for items made from recycled plastics or metals. Try gifting food, plants, or items made from cotton, linen, wool or wood instead.
Zero waste food guide:
Purchase thoughtfully and use a list
It’s tempting to get excited by all the specials on food at your local supermarket this time of year. So to make sure you only buy what you need, work out how many guests you are catering for, then make a meal plan and shopping list before you visit the grocery store.
Store correctly and know your dates
Taking a minute to store leftovers correctly will help food last longer in your fridge. Following the 2:2:2 rule also helps. You’ve got two hours to get them in the fridge, two days to eat them after that, or freeze them for up to two months. And remember ‘best before’ can still be eaten for a few days after, but ‘use by’ must be eaten by that date.
Gift uneaten food for guests to take home
If you still made too much food (despite your best efforts not to do so) and know you’ll never be able to eat the leftovers before they go off, gift extra food to your guests to take home. Tin foil, wax paper and reusable takeaway containers are great for this. If food has gone a little furry in the fridge or you’ve had enough of ham sandwiches, put your food waste into your green food scraps bin for kerbside collection. Still got too much food waste? Freeze anything that doesn’t fit into the scraps bin and drip feed this into your kerbside bin over your next collections.
Zero waste decoration guide:
Choose the right gift wrapping
Many types of gift wrap can’t be recycled, particularly the glossy, metallicised types. So swap the wrapping paper out for old maps, comic book pages, magazines, or brown paper to make your own wrapping paper, or save and reuse gift wrap from previous years.
You can even buy or sew your own reusable cotton gift bags, which not only reduce waste but also your wrapping efforts on Christmas Eve. There are sewing patterns online. Or, you can simply use colourful fabrics to wrap your gifts in and reuse these over and over.
Choose natural decorations
Tinsel and plastic decorations such as baubles are non-recyclable and glitter stays behind in our environment as a micro plastic. Make your own decorations with (or without) the kids from maps, newspaper, magazines, and old books; and decorate with foraged items such as shells, pinecones, rosemary or driftwood. When purchasing new decorations, look for natural materials such as wood, wool, or cotton.
Create rules for secret Santa gifts
At work, home or with your sports team, change the focus from only putting a maximum dollar value to the gift to also ask they be purchased second hand, or don’t become waste the second they’re opened. Ask for thoughtful items that have a purpose and can be used throughout the year or don’t leave waste behind when you have finished with them. This will help your friends and family start thinking about this for all their other gifts as well.