December

Environmentally

Conscious

Environmental issues can feel overwhelming. As an individual it can feel hard to know what to do to help.

Each month we will be looking at small changes we can all make, that can make a difference.

In the UK alone, over 227,000 miles of wrapping paper is used each Christmas. This would go around the world more than 9 times. An estimated 50,000 trees are cut down to produce this. Sadly, most wrapping paper contains materials other than paper so cannot be recycled.

The production, transportation and disposal of Christmas paper uses a lot of resources. An estimated 1 million Christmas cards are put in the bin every year too.

The UK uses over 40 million rolls of sticky tape each Christmas, sticky tape contains plastic and doesn’t biodegrade, it can’t be recycled.

Many people are trying to cut down on the habit of buying Christmas paper. Recycling your wrapping paper by reusing it can be easy to do.

We collected some raffia, pieces of string, coloured yarn and pieces of recycled ribbon, to tie up parcels with, they can be used again and again, unlike single use sticky tape. This also means the paper lasts longer because you can fold it up to use again, without having to tear off tape.

You could save paper that comes as packaging and try printing some of your own Christmas paper. Other paper saved from the recycling bin can make nice wrapping paper, we used an old book of road maps to make some fun wrapping paper. See our craft section for some home made wrapping paper ideas!

Christmas cards can be easily recycled into gift tags by using cutting them out with some crinkly scissors. These can also be saved to be used again the following year!

For another idea for an alternative to a card, see our books section for some beautiful pamphlets that can be given instead of a card, that come with an envelope and bookmark left blank for your own message.

You could try some alternatives to giving cards this year, taking friends something small instead, a homemade treat, biscuits or mince pies or a small hand made craft. You could tell your friends you’ve donated the cost of the cards to a charity. You could make some cards from some recycled paper.

See our craft section for home made wrapping paper ideas!

See our Beautiful Books for Teens and Adults section, for some special card alternative ideas!