Summary
How to reduce your household waste over the Festive period
Simple tips and tricks to help you have a more eco- friendly festive season
Did you know that the amount of waste we produce increases by 30% at Christmas and Australians use more than 150,000km of wrapping paper during the holiday season alone!
We’re all about reducing our impact on the planet by giving you the tools to become a more conscious consumer, so we’ve put together a few ideas on ways you can reduce your footprint on the planet during silly season.
In the lead up to the festival period - eat the contents of your freezer!
You won’t find this in many waste hack articles, but it’s super easy and one that you can do on a monthly basis, not just at Christmas. The added bonus of doing it leading up to Christmas is that you create room in your freezer, meaning space to freeze leftovers and reducing your food waste on Christmas day. Write a post-it note of everything that’s in your freezer and stick the list on a cupboard/ kitchen counter/laptop/wherever you will see it. This means you can ‘see’ what is in your freezer easily and are more likely to eat it!
Eco- friendly Christmas decorations
Some people go mad for them, some people don’t really care, others leave them up all year round. If you have some old ones you want to swap out, we suggest hitting up your local Op Shop or online community marketplace, as now is the time when people are looking to buy (rather than say on, January 10th 2023). The best zero waste way to decorate a tree? Make decorations that you can eat, or better yet, ones you can make a cocktail with! Like theses gin baubles in the Aggie Gifts Bushfood Celebrations Gift Hamper!
How to make a sustainable wreath
DIY wreaths are a fun craft activity for all the family! You can make them out of old book pages, newspapers, foliage out of your back yard, old Christmas decorations or our favourite way this year, make a rag wreath out of fabric scraps. All you need is a ring of some kind (an old wire coat hanger works well) and fabric, which you rip into strips. You then just tie the strips of fabric around the wire until you have the desired effect. This is a great activity to do with the kids!
Sustainable gift wrapping
A lot of waste at Christmas time comes down to excessive food and wrapping paper that can’t be or isn’t recycled. We’ve done a separate post on creative low waste ways you can gift wrap this year.
Eco friendly alternatives to a Christmas Tree
Instead of buying a tree, how about decorating some individual house plants instead? Or you can make a tree out of drift wood and fallen branches, like this one.
The Food!
While it’s great to have leftovers to pick at in the fridge, having a mountain of food leftover means it’s more likely to end up in the bin.
Here is a rough guide on how much food to prepare per number of guests.
Food item | How many will it feed/ grams per person | Leftovers ideas |
Prawns | 6 per person | Prawn Bahn Mi, prawn toast, prawn curry like Pho's Malaysian Prawn Curry below |
Fish (uncooked) | 300g per person | Fish tacos, fishcakes |
Meat (cooked) | 250g per person (adults) 180g per teenager 120g per child (under 12) | Toasted sandwiches or tacos. Cold meats are a nice addition to a Ploughman’s board for lunch |
Roast potatoes/potato salad | 250g per person | Grate and re-form to make rustic hash browns for breaky |
Veggies/salads | 80g per person per item | Use as sandwich and taco fillings or make Hestons Ultimate Bubble & Squeak below |
Christmas pudding/ cake | A 900g cake will (should )feed 8 people | Christmas cake is a great addition to a cheeseboard! |
Cheese | 190g per person | Mac n cheese (can be served alongside salad and meat, Southern-style). You can also portion it and freeze it! |
Leftover Prawns? Use them to make Pho's Prawn & Pineapple Malaysian Curry!
Leftover meat? Add it to Ethans Taco Filling Recipe!
Leftover veggies/ potatoes? Make Hestons Bubble n'squeak!
Leftover Cheese? Make Jamie's Ultimate Cheese Toastie!
Shopping Bags
And of course, remember to take your reusable shopping bags and reusable produce bags with you with you when you do head to the shops. We love this festive Green Confetti Tote Bag from JAM the label and Good Sheets Organic Cotton Reusable Produce Bags when we head out for supplies.
Wishing you an eco friendly, ethical and sustainable holiday season this year. Remember together, we can do our Greatest Good!
