Have yourself a sustainable little Christmas

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Celebrate while reducing waste and energy consumption and benefiting the environment, by following our eco-friendly tips to help you have a merry and sustainable festive season.

Christmas is a great time of year to put the waste hierarchy into action:

Avoid – prevent waste in the first instance
Reduce – to produce less waste
Reuse – use the same item more than once
Recycle – converting waste materials into new materials and objects
Dispose – in the most environmentally responsible manner.

Sustainable gift guide

Christmas shopping doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. There are plenty of ways to save money and the environment when it comes to gift-giving.

How to avoid purchasing items at Christmas time:

do an audit of what you already have – around the home, in your wardrobe, and the pantry
don’t impulse buy
ask yourself, do you want or need this product?
can you clean or fix a broken product and bring it back to ‘new’?
focus on quality rather than quantity. Better quality products will generally last longer
organise a Secret Santa with your friends and/or family to reduce the amount of gifts.

Sustainable gift ideas to spread the Christmas cheer:

A class, course or workshop such as a cooking, painting, pottery, or a guitar or golf lesson.
An experience rather than a material gift for memories they will never forget, like a massage or spa day, a concert or a skydive.
Use your culinary skills to make homemade food or drink such as cookies, slices, relishes or pickles. Food is the way to everyone’s heart.
A membership to a conservation organisation, including magazines, discounts and other member benefits.
A bird bath or frog hotel to attract local native wildlife to their garden.
A Bokashi composting system to nourish their garden all year round.
A native tree or plant for a gift that keeps on giving, attracting birds, wildlife and pollinators to their garden.

To avoid Christmas gift wrapping paper going into landfill because it isn’t recyclable, choose options that can be recycled, while still being beautiful and budget friendly.
Some waste-free ideas include:

reusable Christmas stockings or sacks under the tree
wrapping gifts in newspaper, brown craft paper or place them in a box
reuse wrapping paper or gift bags you have received from others
soy wax or bees wax wraps
learn the art of Furoshiki (Japanese fabric wrapping)
use compostable and recyclable wrapping paper.

Rather than buy a new outfit, shop for clothing at second-hand or hire stores. Attend or host a festive clothes swap, where your friends, family or community members exchange garments, so you all have a new outfit to wear at Christmas.

According to the National Food Waste Strategy, Australian households throw away 3.1 million tonnes of edible food each year.

Tips to avoid sending leftover food into landfill:

Meal planning. Consider what you are cooking and who you are cooking for. For example, turkey has a lower carbon footprint than beef, and vegetarian options are more sustainable.
Make your list and check it twice. Audit your pantry, write a list and stick to it when shopping.
Buy local food and try to grow your own. Check out Grow it Local or visit your closest Community Garden.
Let people serve themselves – food left on plates can’t be used as leftovers.
Save onion skins, carrot tops, potato peels and other food scraps while cooking to create an amazing broth, perfect for making gravy and sauces.
Repurpose your food leftovers by creating new dishes.
Compost bins, worm farms and bokashi bins are great ways to discard food waste.
Have a ‘use it up’ shelf in your fridge.

Sustainable alternatives

A sustainable Christmas can still include the fun traditions you enjoy; it’s about finding better alternatives for the environment so that we can continue spreading the festive cheer.
Suggestions for sustainable alternatives:

Standard purchase	Sustainable option
Advent calendars	Reusable, homemade, or plastic-free options.
Plastic Christmas tree	A real Christmas tree or locally native option like the Australian Woolly Bush, or a wooden Christmas tree.
Disposable plates and cutlery	Borrow extra plates from family and friends for Christmas Day.
Tinsel, baubles and decorations	Make a compostable wreath from native plants or paper chains from recycled paper. Make use of our local Borrow and Share Bunting Library or buy second-hand.
Christmas cards	DIY cards, send eCards, or recycle your old cards and gift tags.
Plastic wrapping paper	Try Furoshiki (Japanese fabric wrapping) with fabric from old garments or Op Shops.
Pre-made Christmas crackers	Make your own crackers using toilet rolls and write your own terrible (or terrific!) Christmas jokes. Include items such as local vouchers, reusable produce bags, soap nuts or plant and flower seeds.

Scroll left and right to view more

Waste disposal

View waste as a last resort and check how some common Christmas items should be disposed:

General waste bin – plastic Christmas tree, non-recyclable wrapping paper (laminated, dyed, contains glitter, metal or plastic), tinsel, turkey frame and seafood remnants.
Recycling bin – plain or printed wrapping paper, cards and cardboard gift boxes (flatten first), wine bottles (no lids).
Garden organics/green waste bin – real Christmas tree.

For speciality items:

Take batteries to a designated drop off point in shops such as Coles, Woolworths, and the City of Joondalup libraries and Administration Building
Save beer bottles and cans and return to your nearest Containers for Change drop-off point or recycling bin (no lids)
Try to sell, donate or reuse textiles or put into the general waste bin.

Items going into the recycling bin should be clean and loose. Remember, your bin shouldn’t weigh more than 70kg.

Christmas carbon footprint

High festive spirits don’t have to mean a high carbon footprint or high bills come January.
How to lower your Christmas carbon footprint:

Consider sustainable transport options over the holidays, such as walking, riding your bike, catching public transport or car-pooling to Christmas gatherings.
Reduce your energy bills by turning off Christmas lights when they aren’t needed, and if you purchase LED bulbs or solar-powered lights.
Everyone can do their bit to reduce water use in the home and garden. Nourish your plants by turning your festive food into nutrients with worm farming, composting and Bokashi bins.

Other resources:

Take your festive frivolity outside to enjoy free natural light at one of the City’s stunning parks, beaches or natural areas.
Explore waste initiatives to reduce your landfill impact.
The GREAT Sort program offers ideas on how to be sustainable regarding waste.
Create your own sustainable garden to benefit our environment, climate and community.
Create your own garden action plan with ReWild.
Apply for a free street tree to help cool your neighbourhood and provide wildlife habitat.
Volunteer with your local Friends Group this festive season, to preserve, protect and manage our natural areas.
Read about other local sustainability superstars.

Gift wrapping

To avoid Christmas gift wrapping paper going into landfill because it isn’t recyclable, choose options that can be recycled, while still being beautiful and budget friendly.