🎄Please Do The Right Thing This Festive Season🎄

Let’s make this year our most eco-friendly, sustainable Christmas yet and opt for eco christmas decorations, trees and gifts. Following this year’s COP26, we are all aware of just how important it is to make every effort we can to be more sustainable – and for many of us that starts at home.

Small changes can make all the difference in reducing our environmental footprint, especially over Christmas, when the potential for waste, over consumption and mass shopping is high.

We’ve put together some quick and easy tips below. Thank you for helping us Keep Australia Beautiful.

Some Easy Tips

• Re-use decorations: The tradition of reusing decorations and storing them away is growing in popularity and easy to implement

• Use recycled paper or fabric: More than half of us re-use last year’s wrapping paper, What many of us don’t realise though is that many rolls contain non-recyclable elements like foil, glitter or plastic. If you want to know if your wrapping paper can be recycled or not, use the scrunch test. Scrunch up the paper in your hards and then let it go. If the paper stays scrunched up then it can be recycled but, if it unfolds by its own accord, then it likely contains non-recyclable elements.

• Using string instead of sticky tape can result in the potential to save and reuse more wrapping papers.

• Buy eco-friendly crackers: Replace single-use crackers with reusable ones. Some are made from natural linen and some allow you to add your own personalised gifts. These are great eco-friendly Christmas decorations for the lunch table.

• Go plastic and glitter free: Avoid wreaths and decorations adorned with plastic accessories and glittery finishes. Not only are these made using non-sustainable materials, but they can be harmful for birds and wildlife if hung up outside.

• Avoid sequins: Resist the temptation to splash out on sequins (they’re made from PVC and there are no biodegradable substitutes) and opt for sustainable materials instead

• Turn off Christmas Lights when you’re out of the house, or in bed. Please be energy and water conscious during this festive season – use solar outdoor lights where possible and keep doors closed when air-conditioning is on and in use.

• Plan to use leftovers: Please be realistic about how much people eat when planning your meals over the festive season and have a plan for your leftovers such as storage in reusable containers and freezing them.

• Be thoughtful when giving gifts so they don’t end up in the bin or are left just sitting around unused and unwanted. Remember that second-hand doesn’t have to be tired, old and worn out – it can be antique, vintage, or something uniquely special and great, something that you know will be appreciated and used.

• Swap, donate or re-gift unwanted gifts: don’t let them go to waste: re-gift them, sell them on line or donate them to charity.

• Be Water conscious: Please ensure taps are turned off, that irrigation systems are adjusted for the Wet season and that all water leaks are fixed – live water smart.

• Place all rubbish into bins: if there are no bins then please hold your rubbish until you find a bin and then put it into the right bin, recycle where possible.

• Don’t drink and drive, don’t drive if your fatigued or tired, and always be consciously driving safely as you and your family are very precious cargo – remember that life is the most precious gift of them all.

A KABCT Membership for Christmas?

Have you considered a KABCNT Membership gift to someone this Christmas.  It’s like doubling down on sustainability. Click here to find out more.

We wish you all a very happy safe Christmas, New Year and festive season, be kind to each other and please do the right thing, and we’ll meet up again next year.