New Zealanders concerned about climate change are being encouraged to have a sustainable Christmas this year by choosing presents with a conscience.
The sustainability movement is a trend that has caused many families to keep reducing waste. Photo: 123RF
The country sends about 15.5 million tonnes of waste to landfill every year, with 3.5 million tonnes of household waste expected to be produced during Christmas.
The sustainability movement is a trend that has caused many families to keep reducing waste.
Wellington mother Mel Jones and her family have chosen to be environmentally friendly this festive season and are working toward a more sustainable Christmas for the first time.
Jones said she had attempted to make a Christmas tree from driftwood, Christmas crackers, and had gone shopping for recycled and repurposed gifts.
After buying their first home she said it was the perfect time to make a conscious change as a consumer and to help set up her three year old daughter to make good choices early.
"We're trying to teach our daughter that she's not likely to have same resources as we do if climate change keeps happening the way it is so we have to give her the tools that we can to prepare to make the best decisions for her family."
Zero-Waste Network chair Marty Hoffart said: "There is a lot of materials we buy that we don't need. They're made in factories and that is what causes climate change as well."
In the week after Christmas, New Zealanders send at least 50,000 extra tonnes of waste to landfill which, if stacked up in a tower, would stretch 105 times higher than the Sky Tower.
Hoffart said he felt hopeful knowing young people were leading the way in the sustainability movement and offered many gift ideas for a waste-free christmas.
"So instead of wrapping up things that people don't need, people can make their own gifts, a lot of us have skill and talents to do that. You could give a gift of time, we're all time poor these days ... even acts of service."
Here are some gift ideas:
- Movie tickets
- Restaurant vouchers
- Native tree planting gift of a tree
- Donation to a cause of a loved one's choice
- Re-useable coffee cup
- Re-useable bags
He said one intentional change from every household could collectively make a major difference in decreasing the mountain of rubbish Christmas generates.