Just how close do you think you can get to no-C this Noel? The Zero Waste Network’s tips
Easing up on the food, packaging and gift waste around Christmas doesn’t have to be hard work, says Amber-Leigh Woolf.
Christmas is coming – but so is a lot of avoidable waste.
The festive season is a close friend of climate change, and experts say it’s good to go with the less is more motto at this time of year for a healthier environment.
New Zealanders generate more waste per person than almost anywhere else in the world – something that’s exemplified each year by the thousands of unwanted gifts that end up on Trade Me.
Even buying an innocent Christmas tree – fake or real – can create a bunch of emissions.
Auckland University of Technology senior lecturer on marketing and retailing Sommer Kapitan said she didn’t want to be the Christmas grinch, but said society wasn’t changing fast enough. ‘‘We’re still buying, and we’re buying more.’’
Shipping, packaging, plastic waste, unwanted gifts, wasted food and emissions from transport are all part of the issue.
However, this year’s Annual Holiday Shopping Survey from US consulting firm Accenture shows sustainable shopping is on people’s minds.
Half of those surveyed said they would opt for lower-carbon delivery options like click-andcollect pickup.
Nonetheless, the majority of consumers planned to spend at least as much this year on holiday gifts as they did last year.
Kapitan said people bought more than they needed because they felt obliged. ‘‘I’m not seeing change great enough to make change, in any way.’’
Polling from the NZ Commission for Financial Capability has revealed people might not even like gifts much anyway – people ranked gifts as the seventh best thing about Christmas.
Time with family was first at 62 per cent, followed by summer weather (37 per cent), time off work/rest (33 per cent) and food (29 per cent).
Just 13 per cent included giving or exchanging gifts in their top three.
The reality was that one of the most powerful messages of Christmas was that it was ‘‘the season of giving stuff’’, Kapitan said.
‘‘It’s hard to say to people that they should not find joy in giving so much to someone else.’’
Cooking together, decorating the home and just spending time with family could bring just as much joy, she said.
‘‘Do something that’s about making and doing together
instead. As a mum with young kids, I’ve talked to some people who are just buying a few things: something you wear, something you need, something you read and something you like.’’
Jack Bowater has created an online calculator to estimate the carbon footprint of both types of Christmas tree.
‘‘A plastic tree may save you from cutting down a real one every year, but it’s still harmful for the environment, considering that it will never decompose like a real tree would.’’
Alternatives include building a ‘‘bookmas’’ tree out of books.
Zero Waste Network chairperson Marty Hoffart said for those trying to reduce their impact on the earth, Christmas could be a really stressful time.
New Zealanders have already told of their anxiety when faced with plastic-laden supermarkets, and navigating stores overflowing with products and marketing messages can be stressful for the best of shoppers.
Hoffart said food is also a big part of Christmas, but much of it goes in the bin.
In 2018, the average New Zealand household wasted $644 worth of food per year, and much of it was sent to the landfill where it creates greenhouse gas.
‘‘One thing you can do is plan your meals before you shop to avoid buying too much.’’
Use skills or talents that you already have: knitting, painting, photography, movie making, pottery, cooking and jewellery create unique gifts. Try a website for inspiration.
Giving the gift of time can be invaluable: give parents a night off, organise a gardening bee for a friend, help with painting or fix their car.
Buy them a massage, gig tickets, haircut, restaurant voucher, a music lesson or a fun trip – they might not do it for themselves.
1. Make your own gift
2. Give the gift of your time
3. Make a gift of service
4. Gift a tree
Projects include the Native Forest Restoration Trust (nationwide), the Kaipa¯tiki Project (Auckland), Trees That Count: Te Rahi O Ta¯ne (nationwide), and Motuihe Project (Hauraki Gulf).
Many of these projects will issue a certificate for the gift that you can give to the recipient, and even invite them along to the planting session of ‘‘their’’ tree.
5. Give a donation to a cause they care about
What are they passionate about? Most charitable organisations will send out a gift card to you to give to the person acknowledging the gift in their name.
6. A zero waste gift
Reusable coffee cups, something recycled or upcycled, a homemade food kit or something in a glass jar they can cook at home.