Christmas for me is the most wonderful time of the year. Chritmas carols, food, drink, gifts, family, friend and most importantly Christ the reason for the season. Christmas is sustainable to those who look forward to receive gifts.
Christmas is sustainable for the needy children and adults globaly. For most needy children, they can be asure of a Christmas gift and a well cooked meal anually. Can you imagine making that difference once a year to thousands maybe millions. Making a family happy during Christmas is sustainable.
But while people are happy receiving , giving and celebrating Christmas the environment is suffering. this Article from the gardian says a lot where our environment and sustainability is concern. There is nothing people can do about Christmas, it is here to stay whether some like it or not. The article below from The Independent, gives some information on unsustainable environmental Christmas. This was written three years.
High environmental price of a very merry Christmas
As many as six million Christmas trees, enough to stretch end to end from London to the North Pole and back, will be incinerated or dumped into landfill sites in Britain once the festive season is over, research has revealed.
The festive season comes at a high price in environmental terms, with people being urged to pledge a greener Christmas by making a major effort to recycle the mountain of Yuletide rubbish which is about to accumulate.
As well as the waste firs and pines, more than a billion Christmas cards are likely to be dumped or burnt - which, laid end to end, would stretch around the world five times.
And that's not all. About 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper will also be thrown out or burnt - enough to gift-wrap the island of Jersey. You can also add to that 125,000 tons of plastic packaging - which, the Liberal Democrats helpfully point out, is the equivalent of more than a million John Prescotts.
"This is all totally unsustainable," the Liberal Democrats' green spokesman, Chris Huhne, said. "Britain is facing a season of bad will towards the environment with Christmas tree recycling levels falling like their own needles. The Government needs to provide universal recycling of all Christmas waste, and must put more pressure on manufacturers and supermarkets to cut the massive overuse of packaging. Having a Merry Christmas could end in a rubbish New Year."
Figures dug out by Mr Huhne in a recent Parliamentary answer indicate that nearly two million trees are recycled by local authorities in England and Wales. But the British Christmas Tree Growers' Association estimates that as many as eight million real Christmas trees are bought every year, so as many as six million trees will be dumped or burnt, the Liberal Democrats say. Assuming an average height of 6ft 6in they would stretch end to end a distance of 7,386 miles. (The distance from London to the North Pole is 3588 miles.)
The best way to recycle trees is via local authorities. Some will collect them; with other councils, householders need to take the trees to a collection point. But cards can now be recycled in high street stores, thanks to the green charity The Woodland Trust, which has teamed up with Recycle Now, the national recycling campaign for England, for the third year running as part of its annual Christmas card recycling scheme.
Collections in January 2006 broke all previous records with a remarkable 82 million Christmas cards collected, a 41 per cent increase on 2005. Next month, when the scheme is aiming to hit the 90 million mark, cards will be collected in Tesco, WH Smith and TK Maxx stores nationwide. The cards will then be taken to paper mills for recycling.
The money raised in the scheme will help the Woodland Trust to save existing, and create new woodland, said Sue Holden, the Woodland Trust's chief executive. "You're helping us to plant thousands of new trees and protect the little ancient woodland we have left in the UK," she said.
The UK waste fallout from 25 December 2006
* More than a billion Christmas cards - 17 for every man, woman and child - will be delivered this year. That's enough to stretch around the world five times.
* 52 square miles of wrapping paper - enough to gift-wrap Jersey - will be ripped off by Boxing Day.
* 125,000 tons of plastic packaging - equal to a million John Prescotts - will end up in the bin.
* Six million trees have been bought but only 1.2 million will be recycled. The rest will be left to rot or be thrown away.
* Shops sell 16 million turkeys and 830 million sprouts. Up to 40 per cent of festive food is wasted.
* Turkey foil wrap will create 3,000 tons of waste.
* Within three months, 41 per cent of the toys children receive will be broken. Most will go to the tip.
* Many will get the latest mobile phone but only 10 to 15 per cent are recycled.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/high-environmental-price-of-a-very-merry-christmas-429635.html
Tips for a Sustainable Christmas
Live Green this festive season
Australians are expected to spend millions of dollars in the lead up to the festive season and making the right choice is essential to becoming more sustainable. There are many simple actions we can all take this Christmas to make a difference, and living green can also save you money.
Here are some ideas on how to have a sustainable festive season, and give our environment a “present” this summer.
Cards, wrapping and decorating
- Source cards and gifts from charity stores such as those run by Red Cross and Oxfam Community Aid Abroad.
- Recycle your Christmas cards in your recycling bin at home.
- Use recycled or pre-loved bags, newspaper or fabric to wrap your gifts. Tie your present with a bow instead of sticky tape and use paper that can be recycled.
- Reuse Christmas decorations, or involve the kids and make your own. Donate unwanted decorations to re-use organisations like Freecycle or Reverse Garbage.
- If you’re hanging lights for the festive season, use energy-efficient LED lighting.
- Buy a living Christmas Tree or use a native tree and plant it in the garden or a pot after Christmas.
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- Festive food
- Buy locally-sourced and seasonal free-range products and support local produce markets and/or Fair Trade food.
- Buy food with limited amounts of packaging.
- Grow your own herbs and vegetables in small pots where there’s plenty of sun – perhaps give plants as a gift.
- For the gift that keeps on giving - give a seedling to loved ones to grow food and a compost bin or worm farm to help 'close the loop' and recycle organic waste.
- Ask the Australian Marine Conservation Society for a copy of their free Sustainable Seafood Guide.
- Use leftovers in salads, pastas, stews, soups, sandwiches, stir fries, omelettes, fry ups or fried rice.
- Avoid disposable plates and cups or buy biodegradable ones which can be composted. Bamboo plates will last and can be put through the dishwasher.
- Gift ideas
- Don’t buy a pet as a gift as a general rule and carefully consider your own pet purchase. A great gift for animal lovers is to donate to a trusted animal welfare charity like DoggieRescue.com.
- Give homemade gifts (eg. bake organic biscuits and give them as presents in reused jars), or give a box of fresh, organic and in-season food.
- Choose Fair Trade consumables such as chocolate and coffee or Fair Trade goods.
- Visit vintage fairs or antique markets to find that special second-hand sustainable gift.
- Consider a Kris Kringle arrangement with your extended family - more funds can then go towards a significant gift for each person.
- Give your loved ones a treat rather than a gift. Gifts of experiences like a massage or tickets to a show generally have less environmental impact than purchasing goods.
- Consider a donation as a Christmas gift through charitable organisations such as St Vincent de Paul, The Salvation Army and Oxfam to help people here and overseas.
- Donate unwanted presents to local charity shops or to reuse centres like The Bower and Reverse Garbage.
Electronics
Australians are among the highest consumers of electronics in the world, generating 140,000 tonnes of E-waste each year, with an estimated 234 million items of E-waste in or on their way to landfill. (Total Environment Centre 2009).
If you are planning to buy a music player, phone or computer as a present or you end up with unwanted electronics; you can:
- Donate or on-sell through online networks such as Freecycle, Scoodi or Ebay.
- Organise a swap party in your community or join a local swap group.
- Look for products which have take back or recycling programs.
- Buy presents which are durable, repairable and carry a good warranty.
- Consider leasing a product rather than buying it outright.
- Ensure your electronics have good energy star ratings.
- Look for rechargeable batteries and recyclable or reusable cartridges, peripherals and paper.
- Recycle mobile phones through MobileMuster.
- Check the Guide to Greener Electronics developed by Greenpeace for a rating of the major brands .
E-WASTE RECYCLING
City offers a free E-waste recycling drop-off collection for Council residents. Since November 2008, the City has recycled over 35 tonnes of e-waste.
Collections occur quarterly. For more information click here.
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/christmas/CommunityInf/SusChristmas.asp
