A mountain of Christmas gifts and goods make their way from and into homes each Christmas season. It is a harsh reality but, not long after the festivities subside, nearly all of those often well-intentioned gifts move rapidly on to mounds of landfill.

Slowing the migration is as easy as setting your family the Green Christmas Challenge to send as little as possible to landfill this Christmas. Inspired by the target of a more or less empty wheelie bin, you will all make decisions that generate less waste.

Many actions give to celebrating a green Christmas, like locally-grown foods to reduce food miles, switching to LED eco Christmas lights and donating gifts to charities. The massive amount of food, plastic and non-recyclable waste is the main environmental problem, but it is an easy one for eco friendly households to tackle.

Sit the team down before Christmas and discuss methods of reuse, reduce and recycle. Here are some ideas to get you started…

Eco friendly plastic-free picnics
Disposable plastic plates and cups are made from petrochemicals, so pollution is created in their manufacture and when thrown-away they sit in landfill forever. reusable plates that you wash up or use palm leaf plates, a stylish plant alternative. They add a chic good for the environment style to your festive table and can be put onto your garden as mulch, rather than in the bin.

Trim a living tree
When Santa arrives in his carbon-neutral sleigh, surprise him with a live Australian Wollemi pine tree. This recently discovered tree is now for sale in nurseries. A potted Wollemi can grow with your family to be trimmed year after year. Or, why not make it a tradition to find a lovely Eucalyptus branch that can be composted when the Christmas festivities are over.

Wrap it again
A fantastic way to stretch the budget and save piles of waste is to wrap presents in newspaper, magazines and even junk mail. For kids use the comics, for car lovers use the motoring pages. Rather than wrapping, place gifts inside reusable shopping bags, or sew cloth bags from festive Christmas material that your family can re-tie with ribbon every year. For an additional special Green Christmas touch, Earth Greetings make gorgeous post consumer waste wrapping paper with Australian Christmas designs printed with vegetable inks.

Detour past the bin
, is this Christmas gift end up in the bin within a few weeks? If yes, choose something else. The old saying quality not quantity is a great friend of the planet. Even the cheapest items use the planet’s limited resources, energy and water to manufacture. Rather than buy a risky gift, regard a gift voucher or make a donation to a charity on behalf of the individual. Should you receive an unsuitable gift, pass it straight on to a charity such as the Salvos.

A green Christmas gift for your garden
Food scraps make up a large portion of rubbish and once in landfill they generate methane, a concentrated greenhouse gas. Compost at home instead and turn leftovers into fertiliser for your garden. The Bokashi composting bin is a popular system that sits conveniently in your kitchen.

Packaging-free paradise
Picture a paradise where Christmas morning is free from mounds of discarded plastic packaging. It just takes a little bit more thought and effort. Locally made and hand-made Christmas gifts are to be over-packaged. A trip to the local Farmer’s Markets will also you stock up on fresh festive food with minimal packaging.

Rather than talking rubbish; this Christmas, your family will soon be asking is this for landfill, recycling or composting? And the joy of accomplishing your challenge will bring good tidings to all.

Biome Eco Stores is a chic retail outlet with a conscience. Firmly committed to eco friendly principles, Biome offers a unique and meaningful green Christmas collection for gifts and decoration.

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