Twelve Ways of Recycling this Christmas

“We wish you a merry Re-Christmas”
Re-Christmas means recycling, reusing and reinventing. The jolly season generates loads of goodwill, big dinners, cards, presents, poultry and puddings galore … not to mention all those bottles … Unfortunately, it leaves mountains of assorted rubbish.

“Deck the halls with boughs of holly …”
… and paper-chains and mistletoe and tinsel and more. When it is all over and the moment arrives to take it all down, it is tempting, due to post-festivities exhaustion, to dump all into the general rubbish. It is a good idea to make that extra effort to separate the riff from the raff and dispose of things separately.

“Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree …”
It is not traditional, not natural and not authentic, but an artificial tree is the environment’s best friend. Artificial trees can look good; many are thick with branches dotted with pine cones, seemingly straight from the forest. This represents perfect recycling: the tree gets reused faithfully every twelve months.

“Silver bells …”
… and balls and baubles reflect the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree. Some home-made decorations hang there too: jaunty spheres and spirals or Santa shapes made from old Christmas cards; a great recycling trick.

“On the first day of Christmas, my true-love gave to me a partridge in a pear-tree …”
A “turkey in a Christmas tree”, two basic Christmas ingredients, would better fit the ticket to fulfill seasonal expectations. Quirky presents sometimes increase the what-shall-we-do-with-it problem.

“Holly and Ivy”
… and Santa and reindeer and all the jollities of Christmas can be seen in that sea of wrapping paper covering the floor on Christmas day. It can be reduced by using Christmas bags or boxes to give presents in; equally pretty! Keep old wrapping paper and use it for lining drawers, covering notebooks, cleaning windows, etc.

“… ra-ta-tum-tum, me and my drum”
Musical instruments are great presents for older children, although most kids prefer gadgets of some kind. If you can steer away from electronic toys or devices you are already helping the environment by reducing the number of batteries in circulation. Home-made toys make good presents for toddlers.

“… bearing gifts we travel afar …”
If your Christmas present budget does not stretch to gold, incense or myrrh, one suggestion is to prepare home-made recycled little presents such as jewellery made from plastic or packaging materials or decorative shopping bags made from t-shirts or pillowcases.

“Silent Night”
A daring solution for super-economic Christmas gifts is to directly recycle unwanted presents the following year! This is not recommended. This practice has been the cause of many a rift between relatives who are no longer on speaking terms.

“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer …”
… with highly glowing nose boldly shines at centre-front of that extravagant Christmas pullover from Auntie. Colourful Christmas-themed knitwear creates a jolly atmosphere in season, but the rest of the winter? If the jolly jumper is really excessive and you cringe putting it on, turn it into a cheery festive cushion for the following year.

“… on the Feast of Stephen…”
Traditionally, the huge Christmas feast is excessive, and Boxing Day is characterised by left-overs. To get away from the usual turkey sandwiches, left-over turkey made into soup is tasty or, better still, make a curry.

“Hark the herald angels sing …”
“recycle that thing!”, and that means everything! There are very few objects that cannot be recycled or reused in some way or even transformed and reinvented.

“Auld Lang Syne”
New Year’s resolution: recycle in every possible way, differentiate rubbish, minimise waste and remember that tomorrow our planet will benefit from our recycling actions today.