Sponsored by
Eco-fans dream of a green Christmas
ECO-campaigners hope Dales residents will be dreaming of a green Christmas and are putting forward ideas on how to have an environmentally-friendly festive season, without compromising on the cheer.
Green crusaders say having a carbon-conscious Christmas does not mean being a Scrooge and Matlock group Little Green Space has lots on ideas on how to minimise your impact on the environment this year.
Richard Bunting, of Little Green Space and Transition Matlock, said: "I think there's been a real growth in awareness about environmental issues and I would like to think people are increasing awareness of the seriousness of climate change.
"Christmas should be about having fun but equally we can pay attention to environmental issues and still have a good time."
Little Green Space is renewing its annual Christmas campaign Save the
North Pole by highlighting that Father Christmas's home is under threat thanks to global warming and climate change.
Steps we can all take for a greener Christmas include:
Buy festive food from a local producer. A traditional Christmas dinner uses seasonal British food which can nearly always be bought at farmers' markets. Try to choose organic and loose, not packaged vegetables.
Avoid using disposable plates and cups as they will just go straight to landfill.
Compost the peelings from vegetables and avoid food wastage by not over-buying. Around a third of the food we buy ends up in the bin.
Defrost the freezer before the Christmas season begins – it will work more effectively, save energy and there will be more space to freeze leftovers.
Make an impact on Christmas landfill by sending e-cards and reuse or recycle any cards you receive this year.
Remember to switch off Christmas lights and invest in some solar-powered fairy lights for outdoors which are free to run and will not add to your carbon footprint.
A real Christmas tree is more environmentally-friendly than buying an artificial tree. Fake trees last for only six years on average – but take hundreds of years to break down in landfill.
Real foliage decorations such as holly, ivy and mistletoe are better environmentally than plastic decorations.
Decorations made with chillis, popcorn, berries, dough, cinnamon sticks and gingerbread can be composted when finished with.
Christmas wrapping paper is hard to recycle so why not get crafty and make your own by using old newspapers or magazines.
Try avoiding packaging and wrapped presents. Ideas include cinema tickets, magazine subscriptions, a day at a spa, book tokens, an i-voucher, animal sponsorship and Little Green Space offers tree-planting schemes.
Wherever you shop for gifts, make sure that you take reusable shopping bags with you.
Richard said: "I think the membership gifts are great. Some friends of ours were given a family National Trust membership last year which is a good ongoing present, while our children were given RSPB children's membership by their grandad – they got a special introductory pack, and then mailings throughout the year that they are always excited to get."
He added: "Many things we can do to tackle issues like climate change will hopefully have lots of knock on benefits.
"We can save money by being more careful with energy use and you save a lot of money on food by growing your own or buying locally.
"Not only will you be cutting down on food miles and saving money but also supporting the local community."
Derbyshire County Council is also pushing its reduce, reuse and recycle message as we throw away 15 per cent more rubbish at Christmas.
The council runs eight household waste recycling centres across the county where a range of items can be disposed of for free.
Derbyshire County Council's cabinet member for recycling, Cllr John Allsop, said: "We need to drastically reduce the amount of rubbish that we send to landfill."
He added: "There are plenty of ways that people can dispose of their unwanted items without putting them in the bin.
"These range from taking them to household waste recycling centres and furniture projects, to recycling them in kerb side collections or donating to charity shops."
For more information on Little Green Space's campaigns or to find your nearest recycling point, click here and here.li>
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Matlock
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
