Rental trees to LED lights — 12 steps to a planet-saving Christmas
WE are dreaming of a green Christmas – with half of us planning eco-friendly festivities.
Nine in ten people want to cut food waste and three quarters are buying sustainable gifts.
But with celebrations often big on plastic, how can you lower your carbon footprint?
As part of our Green Team campaign, experts Angela Terry, Lizzie Carr, and Nick McEwen show 12 steps to a planet-saving Xmas.
1. Countdowns
DISPOSABLE advent calendars only create more waste, and as they are made of cardboard, plastic and foil, all difficult to recycle.
Environmental scientist Angela says: “Choose wooden drawer advent calendars. They look good and can be reused each year – saving money in the long run.
4. Lights
THE twinkling of lights gets us all in the festive mood.
But leaving them on for ten hours a day over the 12 days of Xmas can produce enough CO2 to inflate 12 balloons, according to reports.
7. Cards
AS much as we love to send cards, one and a half billion are binned each year.
10. Crackers
THEY might bring a few laughs to the table but they are an environmentalist’s nightmare.
Try “fill your own” crackers so you can avoid plastic toys, or opt for a reusable set.
12. Games
PLENTY of board games are bought just for the big day to play once the lunch is finished. But you can keep your entertainment eco-friendly.
Angela says: “Avoid plastic-filled games that will only end up in the skip in a few years.
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"Stick to wooden games and a good deck of cards.
“Crafts are a fun activity, or makeshift games, such as pulling ads from newspapers, cutting out the brand name and seeing if family members can guess who it is.”
Join The Sun's 'Green Team' & save the planet
MAKING simple everyday changes can add up to a BIG difference to the planet.
And we want you and your family to join The Sun's Green Team - our eco revolution.
It can feel overwhelming to know how to play a part in reducing greenhouse gasses, but we will be showing you the practical steps we can take to curb climate change - with the help of the global ‘Count Us In’ initiative.
And our easy measures will even help you SAVE money so your household budget goes further.
We'll help you to reduce food waste, insulate your home, create tasty planet-friendly meals and take simple steps to trim your carbon footprint.
We want you to go online to sign-up to as many of our special Green Team pledges as you can manage and a special calculator will show you how much carbon you will personally save.
It won’t cost you a penny but the total you and your family will save will be added to the global ‘Count Us In’ total and the platform will support you every step of the way.
So tap here to pledge.
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