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'How empty can you keep your bin?'
Britons are producing so much waste each Christmas that just using the CO2 from the 10 million turkeys roasted and the 30 hours of telly we watch each week would be enough to fuel 2,695 hot air balloons and 50 full return flights across the Atlantic in a Jumbo jet, according to the Institute of Physics.
That's not even considering the jillion twinkly Christmas lights, bundles of Christmas cards sent then inevitably binned and stacks of shiny Christmas wrapping paper, which let's face it, no-one knows how to recycle anyway.
Carbon footprints are certainly hot topics at the moment, and local authorities are doing more and more to help us go as green as grasshoppers. It differs between areas, however and some cities are a bit more informed than others.
For example, my City has an electric tram system, which is pretty unusual. But our households only have one recycling bin as well as a normal rubbish bin. Lack of a car plus a hell of a lot of hills makes me less than enthusiastic about lugging glass to the nearest bottle bank.
So how can we turn a season that is traditionally a recycling red spot into a lovely ethical green?
Last year the Woodland Trust collected nearly two thousand tonnes of unwanted Christmas cards and raised over £100,000 to protect our native and ancient woodlands. They are running the same scheme this year. For more information visit The Woodland Trust and have yourself a merry little read.
But there are things that can be done before the waste sets in. Prevention is always preferable to a cure after all. So why not buy cards and wrapping paper that have already been recycled?
Waste Online suggests being prepared to do the washing up at your seasonal shindig instead of using paper plates and plastic cups. Don't put the heating on full whack and then keep your door open- which apart from anything else costs an absolute fortune. And set yourself the challenge of 'How empty can you keep your bin?' by buying stuff that lasts a long time and doesn't come in loads of packaging.
But even a saint couldn't get to the end of the party season without producing some waste, so the best thing to do is to get in touch with your local council and find out what initiatives they are running this year to make their city's carbon footprint a little bit lighter.
I think I might make it my New Year's Resolution to go green. No reason why I shouldn't start now. If you fancy going green, try visiting www.recycling-guide.org.uk. It's a pretty good guide to all things recyclable. Especially good if you're new to this recycle and reuse phenomenon.
24 Days to go and counting. Happy Shopping!
Britons are producing so much waste each Christmas that just using the CO2 from the 10 million turkeys roasted and the 30 hours of telly we watch each week would be enough to fuel 2,695 hot air balloons and 50 full return flights across the Atlantic in a Jumbo jet, according to the Institute of Physics.
That's not even considering the jillion twinkly Christmas lights, bundles of Christmas cards sent then inevitably binned and stacks of shiny Christmas wrapping paper, which let's face it, no-one knows how to recycle anyway.
Carbon footprints are certainly hot topics at the moment, and local authorities are doing more and more to help us go as green as grasshoppers. It differs between areas, however and some cities are a bit more informed than others.
For example, my City has an electric tram system, which is pretty unusual. But our households only have one recycling bin as well as a normal rubbish bin. Lack of a car plus a hell of a lot of hills makes me less than enthusiastic about lugging glass to the nearest bottle bank.
So how can we turn a season that is traditionally a recycling red spot into a lovely ethical green?
Last year the Woodland Trust collected nearly two thousand tonnes of unwanted Christmas cards and raised over £100,000 to protect our native and ancient woodlands. They are running the same scheme this year. For more information visit The Woodland Trust and have yourself a merry little read.
But there are things that can be done before the waste sets in. Prevention is always preferable to a cure after all. So why not buy cards and wrapping paper that have already been recycled?
Waste Online suggests being prepared to do the washing up at your seasonal shindig instead of using paper plates and plastic cups. Don't put the heating on full whack and then keep your door open- which apart from anything else costs an absolute fortune. And set yourself the challenge of 'How empty can you keep your bin?' by buying stuff that lasts a long time and doesn't come in loads of packaging.
But even a saint couldn't get to the end of the party season without producing some waste, so the best thing to do is to get in touch with your local council and find out what initiatives they are running this year to make their city's carbon footprint a little bit lighter.
I think I might make it my New Year's Resolution to go green. No reason why I shouldn't start now. If you fancy going green, try visiting www.recycling-guide.org.uk. It's a pretty good guide to all things recyclable. Especially good if you're new to this recycle and reuse phenomenon.
24 Days to go and counting. Happy Shopping!
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