Go Greener, Australia

I like Christmas decorations: they make me smile, and get me in the mood for the silly season. But they’re not always the most eco-friendly things, so here’s some suggestions for ways to lower their impact.

Trees

Generally, you’re looking for either real trees, or something you plan to use for a long time so that you avoid waste.

• My grandmother used to decorate a eucalyptus branch each year! Pinus radiata is the species grown here that looks the closest to a traditional Christmas tree, and is generally grown on plantations, but can be a weed problem.
• If you’re buying a real tree, ask the seller how they’re grown (plantation? cut out of a forest? sprayed with chemicals?) before you make your final decision.
• Real trees need daily watering to keep them looking fresh, so take water-use into account if you buy one.
• I bought my plastic tree before I became interested in the environment, so it’s a good thing I like it, because I’ll be re-using it for many years to come. If you’re getting rid of an old plastic tree, don’t throw it out, make sure it gets re-used by donating it to somewhere that could do with some good cheer.
• Some alternatives: decorate a tree in your front yard; make a tree as a craft project (only for the ambitious!).

Lights

Christmas lights can be energy-hogs, but they don’t have to be.

• Re-using the lights you’ve already got is ok, but if you’re in the market for new ones, buy LED lights - they use far less electricity than normal ones.
• I haven’t been able to find solar-powered Christmas lights in Australia, but if you see any please let me know!
• Make sure you don’t run your lights all night - turn them off before you go to bed, or use a timer if you’re forgetful.
• Switch to Green Power so the electricity is coming from a renewable resource, or at least being offset

Decorations

Again, you’re looking for decorations that will last, rather than flimsy disposables. Bonus points for using recycled materials!

• I prefer a modern streamlined look, so I bought a set of red and silver ornaments in a classic style so I can re-use them every year.
• My mother-in-law has a set of lovely Christmas tree decorations she made herself - round cards with the name of every family member, tied on with ribbons. Last year I added to my plain ornaments with some simple cut-out paper shapes: reindeer and doves, although maybe to be truly Aussie about it I should switch the reindeer for kangaroos DIY ornaments are great because you know there were no sweatshops or dangerous chemicals involved in making them, and they haven’t been transported all around the world to get to you.
• I’m still looking for a decent star to sit on top of our tree, as I prefer them to angels, but take a look at these Angels with Attitude from Biome. They’re a community-aid project that re-uses materials that’d normally get thrown away.
• This year I’m going to revive an old family tradition of hanging our Christmas cards instead of tinsel around the living area. You can use lengths of string, but I’ve also seen a very nice blank mobile which allowed you to hang whatever you like on it (bonus: can be used to decorate your house at other times of year too).

If you’ve got any ideas for eco-friendly Christmas decorations, please let me know. Next time: yummy Christmas food!

This entry was posted on Friday, November 9th, 2007 at 5:00 pm and is filed under celebrations, home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.