Eco-Friendly Christmas
Christmas is often seen as a time of excess and over consumption but believe it or not it is possible to enjoy an eco-friendly Christmas. According to Friends of the Earth| over 3 millions tons of rubbish is dumped over the Christmas period but there are lots of ways that we can help reduce this and save both energy and money in the process.
If you normally send and receive a lot of Christmas cards and your friends or family have access to an email address why not consider sending e-cards instead and/or posting a greeting on the Webster Births, Marriages etc| site which can be viewed via one of the webster kiosks| as well as on computers with internet access. These services are free and using them helps reduce the impact on both woodland and land-fill sites not to mention your wallet.
If you still receive Christmas cards why not save them to create original name tags for next year's presents - get the kids involved they'll love it.
You can also encourage your children to send an email to Santa| rather than a letter as this saves the price of the paper, envelope and postage stamp and the resources that are needed to deliver it.
If you are decorating the outside of your house this year and need new lights then why not purchase more environmentally friendly ones like Solar| or LED| ( light emiting diodes - which use up to 90% less power than normal lights) lights. If you would like to replace your lights but can't afford to why not enter one of the Christmas Lights competitions| that are run at this time of year and use the prize money to purchase some.
If you usually purchase a real Christmas Tree then once Christmas is over why not take it to a recycling point - Greenmeadow Community Farm| in Cwmbran offers this service to Torfaen residents. Once shredded Christmas trees can be used to create 'green' paths and to keep down weed growth.
Glass, cans, cards, and plastic bottles are all thrown away at this time of year but now that Torfaen is operating a weekly collection of these via the black box scheme these can all be recycled.
These handy tips were recently published in the November edition of Torfaen Talks|:
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When shopping for Christmas presents use reusable shopping bags or reuse carrier bags.
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Do not over wrap Christmas presents - use a Christmas stocking instead of paper or use recycled paper.
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Try sending electronic cards.
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Cut up old Christmas cards and make tags for presents.
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Buy Christmas trees with roots so they can be replanted in the garden or buy an artificial tree that can be reused.
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Buy rechargeable instead of disposable batteries.
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Use your black box for recycling any card, glass, cans and plastic bottles that you dispose of.
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Take glass, cans, paper, plastic bottles and film, textiles and shoes to recycling banks in Torfaen.
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Alternatively take your waste to the Household Waste Recycling Centre in New Inn.
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Remember to compost fruit and vegetable peelings.
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Take your old Christmas tree to Greenmeadow Community Farm in Cwmbran to be shredded.
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If your area is covered by the green bin scheme use it for your kitchen and garden waste.
If you have any energy or money saving ideas please send them to us using the contact us form link on the right hand side of your page.