Give your recycle bin a good stuffing...

Obviously we want you all to have a great Christmas and New Year, but it’s our job to make sure that you think about doing things in a sustainable way. It’s easy to get lost in lists of eco-friendly ways to live your life, so we’re just going to focus on 3 really important things this Christmas:

1) Your Christmas Tree – yes, we’d love you to buy one of our lovely 6 - 8ft trees (available at the Forest Centre, while stocks last) but what about having a live tree? A rooted conifer will help the environment throughout its lifetime, as well as saving you money year on year. Also, it means you aren’t buying another artificial tree that will just end up in a landfill.

 

2) Decorations and plastic – packaging is rife at this time of year, and it’s very easy to get carried away when buying presents for loved ones (we don’t expect miracles!) but please think about what you’re throwing away! Don’t buy loads of plastic cups and un-recyclable paper plates this season – either use what you have, or (if you’re clumsy, like me) then use recyclable plates and cups to avoid any broken glass disasters. Re-use shopping bags when you’re doing the big food shop (or the last minute present run). We throw an average of an extra 5 sacks of rubbish away, per household, at this time of year – make sure you recycle whatever you can, and put food rubbish and glass in the right bins. Don’t be lazy just because it’s Christmas.

 

3) Food – this is obvious, and probably unavoidable once you’ve panic-bought breadsticks etc but please think about your food wastage. You regularly throw away an average of about a third of every food shop you do – can you even imagine how much that multiplies at Christmas, with all the extra snacks? Use a list when you’re shopping, measure what you’re cooking and freeze whatever you can afterwards so that it isn’t all just going in the bin.

Ok, rant over! Whatever you do this Christmas – have fun (but make sure that your drunk uncle isn’t chucking everything in the wrong bin…) 

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For more information about buying a Christmas Tree from the Forest Centre, call 01234 767037 or email us.

If you're feeling generous this festive season, we are currently fundraising to build a Forest Shelter at the Millennium Country Park, for visiting school and other groups - any amount is welcome, and will give you that glowing feeling