Have a Green Australian December Holiday

A mountain of holiday gifts and goods make their way from stores and into homes each holiday season. It is a harsh reality but, not long after the festivities subside, many of those well-meaning gifts move quickly on to mounds of landfill.

Slowing the migration is as easy as setting your family the Green holiday Challenge to send as little as possible to landfill this holiday. Inspired by the target of a more or less empty wheelie bin, you will all make decisions that generate less waste.

Many actions give to celebrating a green holiday, like choosing locally-grown foods to reduce food miles, switching to LED eco holiday lights and donating gifts to charities. The massive amount of food, plastic and non-recyclable waste is the chief environmental problem, but it is a simple one for households to tackle.

Sit the team down before holiday and speak about ways to reuse, reduce and recycle. Here’s some ideas to get you started.

Eco friendly plastic-free picnics

Disposable plastic plates and cups are made from petrochemicals, so pollution is made in their manufacture and when thrown-away they sit in landfill forever. Opt for reusable plates that you wash up or use palm leaf plates, a stylish plant alternative. They add a chic good for the environment style to your festive table and can be put onto your garden as mulch, instead of in the bin.

Trim a living tree
When Santa arrives in his carbon-neutral sleigh, surprise him with a live Australian Wollemi pine tree. This recently discovered prehistoric tree is now for sale in nurseries. A potted Wollemi can grow with your family to be trimmed year after year. Or, why not make it a tradition to find a lovely Eucalyptus branch that can be composted when the holiday festivities are over.

Wrap it again

A good way to stretch the budget and save piles of waste is to wrap presents in newspaper, magazines and even junk mail. For children use the comics, for car lovers use the motoring pages. Rather than wrapping, place gifts inside reusable shopping bags, or sew cloth bags from festive holiday material that your family can re-tie with ribbon yearly. For an extra special Green holiday touch, Earth Greetings make beautiful post consumer waste wrapping paper with Australian holiday designs printed with vegetable inks.

Detour past the bin

, is this holiday gift prone to wind up in the bin within a few weeks? If yes, select something else. The old saying quality not quantity is a great friend of the planet. Even the cheapest items use the planet’s limited resources, energy and water to manufacture. Rather than buy a risky gift, think about a gift voucher or make a donation to a charity on behalf of the person. Should you receive an unsuitable gift, pass it straight on to a charity like the Salvos.

A green holiday gift for your garden

Food scraps make up a huge portion of rubbish and once in landfill they generate methane, a concentrated greenhouse gas. Compost at home instead and turn leftovers into fertiliser for your garden. The Bokashi composting bin is a popular system that sits conveniently in your kitchen.

Packaging-free paradise

Picture a paradise where holiday morning is free from mounds of discarded plastic packaging. It just requires a little bit more thought and effort. Locally made and hand-made holiday gifts are to be over-packaged. A trip to the local Farmer’s Markets help you stock up on fresh festive food with minimal packaging.

Instead of talking rubbish; this holiday, your family will soon be asking is this for landfill, recycling or composting? And the joy of accomplishing your challenge will bring good tidings to all.

Biome Eco Stores is a chic retail outlet with a conscience. Firmly committed to eco friendly principles, Biome offers a unique and meaningful green holiday collection for gifts and decoration.