Think ahead to try and enjoy a greener Christmas
HOW we celebrate Christmas can have a significant impact on the environment and Wicklow County Council would like to encourage households to think about avoiding waste particularly food this Christmas.
Most people recognise that the gift-giving can go a bit too far, the amount of food bought and served can be excessive, and that the bins will be overfull when it’s all done and dusted. With a bit more thought and planning, people can have a better Christmas that is kinder to the environment and less demanding on finances.
Only buy Christmas lights marked with a safety standard; Make sure a competent person checks all connections and examines the wiring for fraying;
If in doubt, throw them out; Don’t overload sockets; Unplug all Christmas lights and electrical appliances before leaving your home or going to bed;
Ensure lights are suitable for
The council advises that good planning is the key to success with Christmas shopping and using a well-made list. When shopping at Christmas think carefully about perishables and when they will be used. Expensive meats, salmon, cheeses, desserts can get thrown out after Christmas because too much food was bought.
When doing last minute shopping for presents, try and think about local services that give an experience for a gift rather than piling the house up with more unneeded stuff; examples include vouchers for local restaurants, a spa treatment, outdoor use;
Check all wiring and follow manufacturers instructions; Fasten the bulbs securely and point the sockets down to avoid moisture building up; Never use indoor extension leads outside;
Keep outdoor electrical connections above ground and out of puddles and snow. Ensure trees hung with Christmas lights are not touching power lines;
Never burn wrapping paper in your fireplace;
Keep strings of Christmas cards away from candles and open fires;
Fit a spark guard in front of a round of golf, a weekend away, or a trip to the bowling alley.
As households purchase more food in the runup to Christmas, storage can become an issue. Wicklow County Council advises maximising available storage by using up older stocks in the fridge, freezer and cupboards in advance to make space for the extras at Christmas.
Make sure to continue good rotation of products over the festive season, pulling older foods to the front and putting newer stock to the back. It’ s easy to get out of sync at this time of the year open fires;
Extinguish cigarettes properly and do not let ashtrays get overfilled;
Check that your smoke alarms are in perfect working order;
Never remove batteries from smoke alarm to use in children’s toys;
Clean out the oven and stove prior to using. but that can lead to a bin full of food that cost a lot to buy in the first place.
For the big meal on Christmas day bear in mind that with the wide choice of food for the plate, smaller portions of each food are usually the order of the day. Everyone likes a bit of tradition on the plate but it’s no harm to leave something off the menu if it rarely gets touched.
The 26th can be marked as national leftover day. Wicklow County Council has a 12 days of Christmas recipe book available on www.wicklow. ie with lots of recipes for the Christmas leftovers.