By Anjelica C. Ibuyan
The jolliest time of the year has rolled around and everyone is gearing up for the festivities. Family gatherings, holiday nights with friends, and parties with co-workers are happening everywhere. It’s all fun and jolly until you have to clean all the mess that comes after—and that’s a lot.
It’s hard not to consume a lot of goods during the holiday season, which, after all, is the season to spoil yourself and the people you love. Fortunately, there are ways that you can lessen the trash produced from the increased use of goods: from decorations to gifts and even in preparing your holiday meals.
Sustainable decorations
For many, the Christmas holiday isn’t complete without putting up decorations. While some opt to reuse their old decorations, others prefer to buy new ones. But the practice of buying new ornaments—especially if it’s done every year—leads to long-term problems of having too much of them.
So what do you do with the older ones? You throw them away, adding up to the landfills. Good thing there are eco-friendlier ways to embellish your home this holiday season. And Mother Nature will thank you for it!
Have you heard of edible decorations? Aside from reusing old ornaments, edible decors are also a sustainable way to adorn your space – be it at home, work, or school. Charms made from melted boiled sweets can be hung upon the Christmas tree or in the window, giving that festive look when lights reflect on their surface.
Another is switching to LED Christmas lights, which uses up to 80% less energy than traditional incandescent lights—helping you save on electric bills without sacrificing the effect. Plastic bottles and old newspapers can also be recycled to make good ol’ lanterns.
Eco-friendly gifts
People are becoming more environmentally conscious when it comes to their purchases. This holiday, you can encourage to form environmentally-friendly habits by giving them eco-friendly gifts.
Aside from reusable straws, you may consider on-the-go reusable cutlery not only to help reduce waste but also avoid getting infected with different kinds of diseases that may come with single-use plastics. Best to give colorful ones to show a little personality and those that come with a case so they could bring it anywhere.
Another great eco-friendly gift is one that gives back to the environment. Organic farmers from Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur handcrafted a shampoo bar—Saibon—made with natural ingredients that are both good for people and the environment. For every donation for the Saibon shampoo bar, environmental group Haribon Foundation will plant a seedling of native trees as part of its Forest for Life campaign to restore the Philippines’ forests.
If you know someone who loves the seas and forests, then Haribon’s t-shirts could be the perfect gift for them. The shirts were initially designed for the foundation’s volunteers to wear for activities but are now made available for anyone who wants them. All the proceeds go to Haribon’s conservation efforts. So not only will the wearer show their love for the environment, but they will also be supporting Haribon with their efforts to clean up coastal areas as well as protect the country’s forests and species in danger of being lost for life. Visit Haribon Foundation’s Facebook page for more details.
Do they have an interest in volunteering? Haribon also offers tree planting and coastal clean-up activities that they can enjoy. You can also take it up a notch and gift your environment-loving friends and family with a Haribon membership!
Greener holiday meals
The holidays not only come with a lot of gifts and decorations but it’s also known for the excessive amount of food people prepare. Leftover food can be given away, but sometimes they end up going to waste.
This Christmas, try to trim down on the meals you plan to prepare and rethink some old traditions to be more efficient in cooking for the festivities. For instance, you opt to shop at the nearest local supermarket so that you cut down the distance you travel. This is mostly applicable to people who bring their cars when shopping.
Public transportation is the most eco-friendly way to go far distances but anyone who carried bags full of ingredients knows this isn’t so easy. They can choose to carpool with a local friend or neighbor to the store instead.
Bring reusable bags when shopping! Most groceries today offer paper bags instead of plastic ones but even that is hard to carry, especially if you’re shopping by yourself. These bags may also get soiled by wet ingredients, rendering them useless for being used again.
To cut down on food waste, make sure you have a plan of the meals you are going to make and how many you are making. Only serve things that you are sure will get eaten so that there won’t be a lot of leftovers. You may also opt to prepare food or choose ingredients that can be refrigerated.
Cheers to choosing the earth this holiday season!
