While many may be dreaming of a white Christmas, why not make it a greener one too?

30% more waste is produced over Christmas - about 3 million tonnes.

365,000 km of unrecyclable wrapping paper — enough to wrap around the equator nine times — and 1 billion cards that end up in the bin.

54 million plates full of food are wasted each festive season

But being more sustainable is not all about giving things up. Planet friendly festivities are as much about doing things differently, and even releasing your and your family’s creativity too – as well as being kinder on the wallet. There are plenty of gifts and Xmas paraphernalia that can be homemade or upcycled without the need to add more to our mountains of waste and carbon emissions. It’s a great opportunity to get your children or grandchildren developing their creative side and learning new skills as well having fun, and saving money. And have presents and decorations that are appreciated for the thought and care that went into them.

There are lots of good ideas and inspiration on the internet, but here at the Eco Centre, we will be doing our bit to help us all have a climate, environmental and purse friendly festive season.

Over the next week we’ll be publishing our top tips and ideas on our Facebook page: EcoCentre.SouthWest, and we welcome your ideas too – the more the merrier! Here you’ll also find our Christmas Pledge challenge – an opportunity to make a commitment to yourself to have a greener holiday season. This year we are running a series of free, fun, family craft activities making eco-friendly gifts, cards and decorations in Bridgwater and Taunton – details on Facebook.

The activities and workshops will be continuing in 2024 and are part of our Climate Action Plan project (CAP). The aim of the pilot project is to help people live more sustainably. We help people with practical advice and tips, and help households draw up their own personalised action plan. This is backed up with support to help set up or extend community sustainability schemes – anything from a swapshop, to a grow-our-own scheme, to an EV car share club.

If you’d like to find out more about the Eco Centre and our work (or even drop-in to our online AGM in a couple of weeks) email info@EcoCentreSW.org or message us on Facebook.

Wishing everyone a peaceful, happy  and “eco” Christmas.