The Christmas season is one of the most festive times of the year, marked by joyous celebrations and gift-giving. Unfortunately, the holidays also bring with them a rise in waste production, consumerism, and individual carbon footprints. While it is important to celebrate Christmas, it’s also an opportunity to reevaluate your usual practices and see if they can be done in ways less harmful to the environment.
With the holiday preparations already in full swing, Vantage asked officers from the Ateneo Environmental Science Society: Vice President for Environmental Affairs Tafsy Yap and Associate Vice President for Environmental Affairs Allysa Flores, and Program Manager for Campus Sustainability Abigail Favis, for suggestions on how to be more environmentally conscious before, during, and after the Christmas season.
Prep
With the excitement surrounding this time of the year, it’s easy to go overboard with preparations. However, it may be time to start rethinking your pre-Christmas rituals, and be a bit more mindful this time around.
1. Gift giving
Before getting started with Christmas shopping, it’s important to really think about what to get your loved ones. As much as possible, it’s best to give things you know people want or need based on their wishlists. Apart from conventional presents, Flores and Favis suggest giving “experience gifts,” like movie tickets, or passes to museums or shows. Other gift ideas include recycled or handmade items as a way to lessen one’s negative impact on the environment. “If you’re going to buy, buy local and buy from small shop owners,” Flores adds.
2. Gift wrapping
Packaging takes up a big bulk of the waste produced during Christmas. One way to help reduce this is by using reusable materials, like sturdy gift boxes or hard paper bags. Flores and Yap suggest wrapping gifts in fabric, inspired by the Japanese furoshiki wrapping cloth. Favis recommends using fabrics that are multipurpose, like cloth, which can also serve as a shawl or a placemat. You can also substitute Christmas packaging paper with kraft paper, which decomposes faster. Even old magazines lying around the living room can be put to use. “There are a lot of social enterprises now that make pre-folded gift bags from old magazines,” Favis shares.
3. Decorating
One way of really getting into the Christmas spirit is by filling the house with vibrant Christmas decor and lights. Flores and Yap agree that people can decorate sustainably if they use what they already have. “If you don’t want to buy decorations, you can just follow a color scheme.” Flores suggests. Favis also recommends the use of LEDs for Christmas lights, which are more energy efficient.
Celebrate
People have varying ways of celebrating the Yuletide season–and the more memorable, the better. Just remember that whether it’s travelling abroad, hosting noche buena, or holding a Secret Santa party, there’s always a way to keep it green.
1. Christmas feasting
There never seems to be a shortage of food during Christmas, and sometimes that’s what leads to food waste. To minimize this, Flores and Yap encourage buying ingredients at local wet markets and cooking at home over buying packaged food. They also propose bringing containers to take home leftovers when dining out. For those hosting gatherings, Favis suggests making food that doesn’t spoil easily, and minimizing beef dishes, as they leave behind a high carbon footprint.
2. Party traditions
When serving food, go for reusable plates and utensils instead of disposable ones. They may be a hassle to wash afterward, but they help lessen party waste. Both Flores and Yap also discourage releasing balloons which eventually end up in oceans, and using fireworks which add to air pollution.
3. Transport
Traffic jams reach a whole new level with people rushing to year-end sales and everyone going home for the holidays. This doesn’t bode well for the environment, as Favis shares how “the bulk of air pollution in Metro Manila is from transportation vehicles.” She recommends choosing public transportation to lessen the number of vehicles on the road. Another option would be carpooling. For those going to a party with their friends or family, sharing a car instead of taking individual trips already goes a long way.
4. Dressing up
It’s common Filipino practice to shop for a “special Christmas or New Year outfit.” While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to get dolled up, it’s important to be mindful when shopping for new clothes. As much as possible, it’s best to buy something of quality that you know you can use again, and not just a flashy one-time costume that will collect dust in your closet. Favis suggests buying separate articles of clothing, since they’re easy to mix and match with the rest of your wardrobe even after Christmas.
Pack
On the days following Christmas Eve, you really see how much you’ve gathered over the holidays: From gift wrappers and leftover food to those five tumblers each of your friends got you. But fear not, because there are eco-friendly methods to go about your post-Christmas decluttering.
1. Gift wrapping waste
Much of post-Christmas waste comes from disposed gift packaging. To minimize this, Flores and Yap recommend unwrapping gifts carefully so that the packaging can be reused or repurposed. They shared several ways to reuse gift wrappers–using them for school projects or eco-bricks are only some of the many options to choose from. Keep an eye out for boxes and paper bags since these can be easily reused as gift packaging for next Christmas.
2. Leftovers
Noche buena normally leaves a trail of excess food behind. But instead of dumping leftovers or leaving them to spoil, try transforming them into new dishes. Favis suggests “creatively re-cooking” leftovers, like serving remaining ham slices into sandwiches or chopping them into bits for fried rice. For food waste gathered after cooking, composting is one way of putting them to good use.
3. Giving back
With all the gifts people gather over the holidays, many may feel the need for some spring cleaning at home. In this season of giving, it may be nice to follow up that decluttering with some donations. Favis suggests going to charities like Goodwill and Caritas Manila, especially since there are a lot of calls for donations as the Christmas season draws to a close.
In the end, it all boils down to being more mindful when it comes to the decisions we make–not just during the holidays, but in regular day-to-day life. It isn’t easy changing your usual Christmas practices all at once, and it’s important to be realistic as to what you can do. “If you cannot avoid doing something that you know might have an environmental impact, try to offset it in some other way,” Favis suggests. Little things like taking a shorter shower, lessening your hours of air conditioning, or taking more public transport can go a long way–and this season, it’s time Mother Earth starts receiving the gift of care she deserves.