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Have yourself a Zero Waste Christmas

Lifestyle People News
PUBLISHED: 22 DEC 2020
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With a bit of planning and creativity, you can have a Christmas with less waste than ever before!

The key is being thoughtful about what you bring into your house as part of your Christmas prep.

“Food waste is a real issue during Christmas – it’s easy to think big and prepare more food than can be eaten on the day. That can be avoided by planning your menu and shopping with a list so that you buy only what you need, and also being creative about how you make new meals with any food that’s left over,” says NPDC Manager Resource Recovery Kimberley Hope.

“You can include your children in planning the meals and make it a family activity.”

Children can also help by decorating brown paper as gift-wrapping by using colour pens, or you could collect up the kids’ artwork from the year and repurpose it as wrapping paper. All paper wrapping is recyclable but shiny or glittery plastic wrap isn’t and will have to go in the red landfill bin.

Other Zero Waste wrapping options are scarves or other fabric, or putting gifts into reusable bags.

“A really cute idea is to swap Christmas crackers for home-made fortune cookies. Everyone in the family can write secret fortunes on recyclable paper strips and then see who gets what when the cookies are cracked open at Christmas lunch,” says Kimberley.

“When you’re shopping for gifts, be sure to check what The Junction has. There’s a surprising range of upcycled and preloved goods available – not to mention a variety of construction materials for anyone who wants to make something special.

“But with any gift you buy, try to get something with as little packaging as possible. Gift vouchers are great for that – and you could make your own Christmas cards to go with them.”

The Junction is on Colson Road in New Plymouth, and is open from 10am to 3pm from Tuesday to Sunday. (The recycling bins are open from 8am to 4.30pm, seven days a week.)

If you have any old household batteries, such as from Christmas lights and electronic toys, you can take them to The Junction for free for safe recycling.

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Page last updated: 09:57pm Tue 26 October 2021

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