It is becoming ever more important for our generation, and for future ones too, that we really start to make more of an effort to recycle more. Christmas is the time of indulgence but this doesn’t mean we have to be wasteful.
But what can you recycle from Christmas and how? Are there alternatives to the traditions we have always indulged in? Obviously, here at Modish we love reclaimed wood furniture as it is more eco friendly but what else could be recycled this Christmas?
Wrapping paper
It’s an amazing fact but in the UK at Christmas, we bin 227,000 miles of Christmas wrapping paper (according to Telegraph), a shame when you consider that the majority can be recycled at the kerbside.
When you buy wrapping paper, opt for paper-based one over the foil wrap or one that has bows and the like stuck to it. The latter can’t be recycled but paper wrapping with all the Sellotape and bows removed can be recycled along with your usual recycling.
Of course, there are other ways of reusing wrapping paper in the home, something that many of us are becoming more aware of.
Christmas cards
Apparently, Millennials are sending very few Christmas cards, if at all. There are certainly fewer placed upon many a tall chest of drawers than in previous years in most households. Most are also forgoing wrapping paper too, a sign that their generation is environmentally conscious. Others put this down to being crotchety about the festive period.
We would like to think it is about helping the environment, something we are all about at Modish Living. The majority of our collections are made from wood that served another purpose in a previous life and we are proud to think that there are many more households enjoying their Christmas dinner gathered around a reclaimed wood dining table, seated on comfortable upholstered dining chairs.
And when wood is not from a reclaimed source, we use wood from sustainable sources, such as mango wood, a waste product of the mango fruit groves.
Christmas cards are a delightful way of staying in touch and we still buy and send around 900 million Christmas cards each year (according to Greeting Card Association), even though this trend may be falling.
You can recycle Christmas cards, whether they have glitter all over them or are a simpler version;
- Some councils accepted them at the kerbside
- Supermarkets will also collect used Christmas cards at their stores for most of January – look out for the special cartons to pop them in
- Recycled the back of the card but save the top of the card for shopping lists etc.
Find out more about how to recycle Christmas cards.
Christmas tree
If you opted for a real tree this year, there are two ways of ‘recycling’;
- Remove all tinsels, baubles etc. and check with your local council for kerbside collections of trees in your area
- Buy a living Christmas tree in a pot that you can plant in the garden and enjoy for years to come.
- Invest in a life-like artificial tree that you can use over and over again – there are some fantastic examples of all shapes and sizes, ideal for sitting alongside your sideboard cabinet in the dining room or living room
Boxes and crackers
Boxes, both white and brown cardboard, can be recycled at most kerbside or collapse them and pop them down to your local recycling centre.
Crackers can be recycled too – but you may have to dismantle them – the inner cardboard tube can be recycled at the kerbside. The paper outer can usually be recycled too, as can the inner ‘cracker’.
With all these options for Christmas recycling, will you be going more eco-friendly this Christmas?