Already we are hearing the tunes, seeing the lights and shopping centres are filled – yes, the Christmas holidays are here. Besides getting together with friends and family, sharing and having fun, Christmas can be very materialistic. From gift wrapping to decorations, there are a lot of items that we wouldn’t need when the holidays are over. Many of these items are made of plastics, e.g., Christmas trees, tree decorations, streamers and lights. Plastics can take more than 500 years to decompose and may never decompose in a landfill! In the run up to the holidays we can start thinking of some fun and cheap ways to make environmentally conscious decisions such as minimising waste. These ideas will take some thinking outside of the box but are sure to save you some money:
1. Use colour samples as gift tags – many of you will be adding a new coat of paint to the living room or kitchen. Start saving your colour samples the next time you go paint shopping.
These colourful chips will be perfect to tag your holiday gifts. Simply cut them in the form of a tree or any other fun shape and add the recipient’s name.
2. Light Bulb Decorations – this year as you convert to more efficient energy use with energy saving bulbs, use your old incandescent bulbs to make tree decorations. Add a light coat of metallic silver paint and these shapes would be perfect on your tree. Now you can buy fewer plastic decorations.
3. CD or DVD Coasters – here is a perfect opportunity to get the kids’ help this Christmas. If you have some old CDs or DVDs lying around and some fabric, clear out the clutter with this fun idea. Glue some fabric to one or both sides. It will be easy to add your own twists to this one.
Remember that you can also save many of your items this year for next Christmas. Join us in the coming weeks to get more environmentally friendly tips for this holiday season.
You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com