HOW TO REDUCE YOUR CHRISTMAS WASTE

With Christmas fast approaching, its time to start thinking about Christmas presents! Christmas is full of fun, family and presents but its also full of plastic and packaging, so what better way to prevent this than to think eco-friendly! Here are some gift ideas to reduce your plastic and packaging use!

GET CRAFTY

If you are the crafty type, why not make your gifts. Some great crafty gift ideas we’ve found include:

· DIY Bath bombs

· Christmas tree ornaments

· Make your own gift boxes full of yummy local foods

· DIY terrarium

· DIY Snow globes

· Make some jewellery

· Crochet or knit a gift

SEND AN E-GIFT OR GIFT CARD

Not sure on what to get your loved ones for Christmas? E-gifts and Gift cards are great for this reason! Let your family members choose their present and save the waste of an unwanted present

CHOOSE ECO FRIENDLY WRAPPING PAPER

Some wrapping paper is recyclable, but unfortunately not all of it is. If your wrapping paper has glitter, cellophane, foiled, or has a waxy coating, it can’t be recycled. We suggest wrapping your presents in compostable brown paper bags or tissue paper (and decorate with drawings or natural flowers), tie gifts with organic cotton or other natural fibres, reusing cardboard boxes, or make your own beeswax wraps to wrap your presents in!

BUY LOCAL

Not only does buying local improve the local economy, its also better for the environment. Purchasing goods locally, means less travel time, less energy used and less packaging! It also gives you and your family something to feel good about, knowing you are helping local producers keep their businesses alive.

Check out these awesome stores to buy your goodies from:

· Ecolateral

· OmMade Meet the Maker

· Sustainable Clothing Co.

· Place of Kind

· Gilles at the Grounds

Or check out the below websites for other great sustainable gifts:

· Biome

· Flora and Fauna

BUY AN EXPERIENCE

Lastly, a great gift idea for the little ones is to buy experiences! Children love to play with toys but quite quickly the toys are thrown to the back of the cupboard. Buying an experience creates long lasting memories for the whole family. Some great experiences are:

· Adelaide or Monarto Zoo

· Escape Room Experience

· Gold Class Movies

· AFL Max

· Latitude

· Bounce

· Adelaide Oval Roof Climb

· Surfing lessons

· West Beach Adventure Park