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Day 8

Recycling

A Sustainable Christmas

Tips for a sustainable festive season

Did you know that approximately £42 million worth of unwanted Christmas gifts end up in landfill each year? As the festive season draws near, it’s a great opportunity to reflect on how we can celebrate more thoughtfully, for both people and the planet.

Christmas doesn’t have to be about excess or overflowing bins. With a few mindful choices, we can all enjoy a season that’s both meaningful and sustainable.

Below you will find 5 helpful tips to help you enjoy a sustainable festive season:

Rethink gifting

Choose quality over quantity. Try locally made, consumable, or second-hand gifts, or try giving experiences instead of things – a meal out, a show, or a day together often means more than another item on the shelf.

Adult hands handing a gift into a childs hands

Wrap smart

Traditional wrapping paper often can’t be recycled. Try reusable fabric wraps, old maps, brown paper tied with twine or decorate paper you already have. Avoid glitter!

Wrapping paper

Plan your food

Reduce waste by planning portions, freezing leftovers, and getting creative with recipes that use up ingredients. Compost what you can.

Top down image of a christmas feast

Decorate with nature

Pine cones, branches, berries, and dried oranges bring warmth and beauty to your festive decorations without any plastic waste!

Some natural decorations like pine cones and branches

Tree-tastic

Rent a Christmas tree and after the festive period it’ll be replanted! Otherwise, buy a potted one that you can use each year, or opt to reuse a plastic one rather than buying new.

Christmas Tree

Go to the WWF website for more inspiration. This season let’s focus on connection, creativity, and care – making memories that last longer than packaging.

You can even earn points on Sustainability Rewards for your sustainable choices this festive season. Read on to find out how!

SWell - The Sustainability Platform

SWell is an online platform available to all staff and students at Swansea University where you can take part in activities to boost sustainability and well-being, earn Green Points, and win prizes for all your positive efforts. Click here to download the SWell app!

Take part in the SWell Sustainable Christmas activity to earn up to 250 points every week for your sustainable actions, from reusing wrapping paper to reducing food waste.

The top 20 points earners each month will win a £10 voucher, redeemable at M&S, EcoSwap (featuring a huge range of sustainable brands), National Book Tokens, or Swansea Sports Memberships! Free for all staff and students at Swansea – sign up now and download the app to start earning points, collecting rewards, and making your Christmas more sustainable!

How to take part

Once you have registered in the SWell app, earning points over Christmas is easy!

Click ‘Submit’ and share how you’ve made your festive season more sustainable; whether that’s buying second-hand gifts, shopping locally, cutting down on meat, freezing leftovers, or wrapping presents in recyclable paper. Earn 250 points for each submission.

Disclaimer

You can take part in this activity once per week until 5 January.

Why it's important

The festive period is one of the most resource-intensive times of the year. In the UK alone, around 2 million turkeys, 5 million Christmas puddings, and 74 million mince pies are thrown away each Christmas!

Making mindful choices, from choosing second-hand or locally made gifts, to reducing meat consumption, to reusing decorations, can significantly reduce waste and carbon emissions. Wrapping gifts in recyclable or reusable materials and opting for experiences or homemade treats instead of new items are also powerful ways to make Christmas more sustainable.