Sustainable Christmas - Present Wrapping

The festive season is a time for friends, families and celebration, but many of us are looking for ways to make this time more sustainable.

From the things that we eat and wear, to the places we shop and the gifts we give, there are so many ways we can have a more sustainable festive season that won’t cost the planet.

Our Climate Officer has shared their plans and ideas for simple sustainable alternatives this Christmas.

Wrapping paper 

It's true that most wrapping paper can be recycled but only if it's the non-foil/shiny and glittery free type. If you want to know if your wrapping paper can be recycled or not, use the scrunch test.

Scrunch up the paper in your hands 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 is likely to contain non-recyclable materials and shouldn't be placed in your recycling bin.

When doing your own wrapping why not make the switch to recyclable paper. You can jazz it up by decorating it and add some ribbon and holly once wrapped. Just make sure you remove them before placing it in your recycling bin. 

You could also use old fabric that you have around the house or if you would rather skip the wrapping all together opt for gift bags as these can be used more than once.

Sticky tape

Sticky tape isn't reusable or recyclable, but a simple swap is to use string. This can be reused, and it looks pretty too!  

You can also get brown paper tape which is biodegradable and 100% recyclable, which makes it a perfect environmentally friendly alternative to standard sticky tape.