NAVIGATION
Marriage Celebrant - Vivien Reed Marriage Celebrant - Vivien Reed

LETS CELEBRATE..EVERY OPPORTUNITY

December 2021 is a time of celebrating the end of a tumultuous year and sharing family time and gift giving.

Do you sometimes wonder about the environmental impact of all this celebration? And what can you do to minimise this ? There are many simple things we all know to do. Here are 3 more for you to think about …

 Recycle what you can
If you’re replacing old gadgets and gizmos with new, remember to dispose of your old things as thoughtfully as possible. Old electronics, ink cartridges, modems, electronic toys, can all be recycled at our Randwick Recycle Centre – avoid tossing them in the red bin to end up in landfill. Better yet, see if you can pass them on to someone else so they can get some use out of the item.

Choose LED lights
A single set of Christmas lights or fairy lights doesn’t generally consume too much electricity. For example, a set of Christmas lights with 300 bulbs may use around 6 watts. If you were to turn these on for 12 hours per day for every day in December, this would likely add less than $1 to your electricity bill. However, to reduce the energy use and environmental impact of your Christmas lights display, be sure to use timers and choose LED lights when possible. If you want to power your lights with renewable energy, you can also enquire about purchasing GreenPower from your energy provider for the most sustainable solution.

9) Oh, Christmas tree
Is using the same plastic Christmas tree every year better for the environment than purchasing a real one? This is an age old debate for anyone who wants to make a sustainable choice. Interestingly, the answer comes down to not only choosing ‘plastic or real’, but also how the tree is disposed of. According to the Carbon Trust1, “if you have an artificial tree at home you would need to re-use it for at least 10 Christmases to keep its environmental impact lower than that of a real tree”. However, this assumes that your real tree is disposed of correctly (such as by converting it into wood chips), which reduces its carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent. Fortunately, many councils will pick up your real trees for you after Christmas! Check with them and you may find you can just leave them on your kerb on the first green waste collection day of the year.

I wish you , and all readers, the very best for the festive season and a joyous 2022.