Recycling – It's Not Easy Being Green

We are living in a time where our economy continually perpetuates a false reality of limitless resources, where endless production of the next ‘must- haves’ and the modern convenience of a throwaway culture is normalised.

Buying new has become somewhat of an epidemic, an insatiable appetite that all of us, at times, struggle to quell. This has never been more apparent than at Christmas time.

The following are just some ways we can all try to be more sustainable over the festive period.

Top tips

‘ Sustainable Secret Santa’

If you are organising Secret Santa this year, then why not try making it a sustainable one? Ensure all gifts are preloved or handmade.

Alternatively, collect all the money you would spend on Secret Santa and donate to charity, see point 4 for some inspiration!

Wrapping paper

An often overlooked part of Christmas.

Consumers in the UK use 227,000 miles of wrapping paper each year. Invariably, the plastics and foils that are used to produce wrapping paper are not recyclable meaning vast amounts are thrown away to landfill which then takes decades to break down. This only contributes to the devastating, and scandalous, proliferation of our global waste crisis which is choking and contaminating the ecosystems we so desperately depend on.

It is ludicrous to think that a commodity with a life span of a matter of seconds has such a monumental and long – lasting impact on our environment!

Why not try wrapping your presents in recycled brown paper and adding decorative fabric ribbons that can used again? If you’re looking for something a bit more colourful, why not try sustainable gift wrap alternatives such as Lush’s beautiful Knot Wrap?

Christmas cards

Sending Christmas cards is a long – standing tradition dating back to the Victorian period. Again, due to their decorative nature cards usually can’t be recycled meaning approximately 1.5 billion Christmas cards are thrown away by UK households each year.

Cut down the cards you send this year. Look at sending e-cards or handmade alternatives instead. For example, Plantable Seed Christmas cards are made from seed paper, vegetable starch and recycled paper. Once you’ve finished with your card, plant it in the ground and watch it grow!

Donate to an environmental charity

Give back to the planet by donating to your favourite environmental charity this Christmas. There are some wonderful tree planting schemes run by organisations such as Trees for Life, a beautiful project aimed at rewilding the Scottish Highlands.

Trees have the mind-blowing potential to head the fight against climate change. They have the capacity to capture Co2 emissions from the atmosphere, prevent soil erosion, regulate water cycles and flooding as well as provide safe habitats for wildlife.

With the UK being one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, supporting initiatives like this is critical in determining the future of our wildlife.

More Vegetarian and Vegan recipes!

Turkey, cheese, chocolate, pigs in blankets… all delicious foods and something we relish in over the festive period. Yet we are also no stranger to the damaging impact of meat and dairy on the environment. As demand for these industries has exploded over the last few decades, huge swathes of rainforests, wetlands and grasslands have been destroyed to make way for crops to support livestock and other consumer products such as palm oil. The environmental impact of agriculture and deforestation is colossal, contributing to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.

There’s not only clear environmental arguments for reducing your meat and dairy consumption, but also huge health and economic benefits in doing so this Christmas. The plant – based diet is becoming increasingly more popular and accessible. Growing numbers of individuals, restaurants and supermarkets are now offering affordable and creative veggie and vegan alternatives. Why not follow Deliciously Ella and Fearne Cotton for some yummy recipes?

If the temptation is just too great over Christmas, try and buy organic meats and support small – scale farming wherever possible.

Note: When buying food try to avoid plastic waste. Bring your own containers and bags to supermarkets and buy loose fruit and veg!

Christmas Trees

There is some contention around whether plastic or real trees are better for the environment. The popularity of plastic has come from its unique resilience and versatility so if you have a plastic tree, continue to use it for as long as possible.

If you’re looking to purchase a real tree this year, environmental charity Friends of the Earth are advising to look for trees that have an FSC – certification. Try buying a potted tree with roots so you can keep growing it in your garden ready for next year!

As we head in to the New Year, what is more palpable than ever is the new age of environmental activism that is proliferating on a global scale. Although there are fundamental structural and political changes that need to happen to ensure the longevity of our planet, this new environmental consciousness is infectious and advocates an empowering notion that everything we do now will make a fundamental difference to our future.

As the severity of our plastic problem takes a prominent spotlight on the global stage, how we recycle in the West is now under intense scrutiny.

Our addiction to plastic is real. For over 6 decades we’ve relished in plastic’s versatility and resilience, so much so that a whopping 8.3 billion metric tonnes has been mass produced since the 1950s. Of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic that has been produced, 6.3 billion metric tons has turned in to plastic waste with only 9% of it actually being recycled. That means a staggering 91% of plastic waste ever made is either incinerated, ends up in landfill or becomes litter with most of it contaminating our ecosystems.

As a nation, we are recycling more than we can manage. British households are accumulating an astounding 22 million tons of waste each year. As a society, we are struggling to cope under a broken waste system. We significantly lack the necessary infrastructure to recycle the plastic waste we incessantly throw away on a daily basis. As a result, the West is shipping masses of plastic waste abroad.

In October 2018, Greenpeace Unearthed found plastic packaging from UK recycling at numerous illegal dumping sites in Malaysia. Since China put a ban on waste imports from the West, countries like Malaysia are becoming the new developed world’s ‘dumping ground’ for its throwaway economy, with a recorded 88,000 tonnes of plastic exported from the UK to Malaysia between January – August 2018. The situation has only been exacerbated by Malaysia’s Environmental Secretary, Yeo Bee Yin, announcing recently that up to 100 tonnes of Australian plastic waste will be sent back due to contamination. Developed countries are exporting large amounts of contaminated, second – rate recyclable plastic which causes numerous environmental issues for countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

‘As a material, plastic can only be recycled a certain number of times, so we can’t keep recycling the same thing forever. Making new recycled goods out of the plastic we recycle also uses up a lot of energy and resources.’ – Greenpeace, UK

Is recycling worth it?

I recently contacted Greenpeace to ask in light of all of the above, is it worth recycling? Short answer, yes. There are good quality plastics, such as water bottles, that can be effectively recycled in UK facilities, and that is evidently better than the alternative i.e. sending it to landfill, incineration or abroad. Of course, recycling alone is not enough to solve the plethora of plastic choking our oceans; the only real solution is to stop using plastic. We must significantly cut back on the amount of single – use plastics being produced to reduce the immense pressure on our recycling systems and our planet.

Tips on how to manage and reduce your waste

The complexities of UK recycling systems are universally felt. Recycling in the UK is a devolved, convoluted infrastructure that creates confusion as to what can and can’t be recycled. A BBC analysis found that there are 39 different set of rules for what plastic you can recycle.

Although frustratingly multifaceted and localised, there are a few things you can do to ensure you’re recycling effectively and ease the strain on our recycling facilities.

1.Find out what can and can’t be recycled in your area. Recycle Now is a great for this and provides useful advice on how to appropriately recycle waste and schemes to help you almost recycle anything.

2. Before recycling plastic items, make sure you screw the lids back on. This is important as small pieces of plastic, like lids, are too small to be recycled on their own. Recycle Now promote this as a general rule however of course, this can vary from area to area (I know, so frustrating!)

3. Look out for recycling symbols on packaging. Not all plastic packaging can be recycled easily. Which? has a really helpful guide on what the plastic resin symbols (1 -7) on plastic packaging mean and what you can and can’t put in your recycling bin. 1, 2 and 5 are recyclable. Recycle Now also explains recycling symbols.

4. Wash out plastic waste. Make sure you empty and rinse your plastic. It doesn’t have to be spotless however excess food and waste can cause contamination which can render the whole recycling load as not recyclable.

5. Squash your plastic bottles. This stops bottles from rolling off the sorting machine conveyor belts and allows for more room and reduces carbon footprint.

6. Recycle at your local supermarket. Some types of film and carrier bags can be recycled at carrier bag collection points at larger supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.

7. Campaign for change by returning your single – use plastic. In response to BBC’s hard hitting documentary War on Plastic, my sister and I gave #OurPlasticFeedback by returning our single – use plastic to our local store. You could also bring your own containers to transfer produce (within reason of course) from its packaging at the check out. This is great way to raise awareness and breach the fundamental conversation with supermarket giants about how we can work together to reduce our plastic and protect our beautiful planet.

8. Reduce your plastic at home. The only way we are really going to make a difference is if we significantly cut back on the plastic we use and find sustainable alternatives. Making simple changes such as swapping your shampoo bottle for a solid bar (Lush is great for this), shopping at the local market for fruit and veg or using cloths instead of wipes. Making small changes individually is hugely effectively.

I always seem to end with quoting our lovely Sir David Attenborough but the below really resonates and consolidates the notion that all the big changes in history have started with the individual:

“The actions of any just one of us may seem to be trivial and to have no effect. But the knowledge that there are thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who are doing the same thing – that really does have an effect.“

Category: Recycling

How you can be more sustainable this Christmas

Is recycling worth it?

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