Submitted by Grainne Kennedy on Wed, 2017-12-20 10:53
The Christmas decorations are up and we are getting into the festive spirit! “Peace and goodwill to all men” has increasingly become about purchasing ethically and taking care to ensure that our Christmases are jolly, joyful and environmentally friendly.
We recently received a handy guide on how to make Christmas sustainable and here are some of the highlights:
Going battery free
Batteries are made from a variety of chemicals to power their reactions. Some of these chemicals, such as Nickel and Cadmium, are extremely toxic to humans and the environment. Going battery free, or using rechargeable batteries, will reduce the amount of battery waste we produce. If you have batteries in your University department that need to be disposed of, you can deliver them to our recycling points or send them in the UMS to Laundry Farm Battery Recycling. Please don’t bring in batteries from home – these should be disposed of via your local Council or collection bins in your local supermarket.
Light up the world
LED lights are incredibly efficient, they last much longer than traditional bulbs and one burnt out bulb will not affect the working of the others. There are even solar powered Christmas lights which can be used outside. If you often forget to switch off your lights, using a timer will ensure that lights are not left on overnight, wasting energy and costing you money.
It’s a wrap!
To avoid a pile of wrapping paper building up that has only been used once, you could use colourful material scraps, old comic books and decorative calendars that would’ve been destined for the bin. If you do use wrapping paper you can check whether it is environmentally friendly by looking for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo.
Make your stamp on the world
Instead of throwing away your old stamps use them for a good cause like the RSPB’s albatross campaign.
Food challenge
It can be difficult to estimate the amount of food you will use and we often over-cater, rather than risk running low on food. With websites such as BBC Good Food and Love Food Hate Waste, there are hundreds of fantastic ideas as to what you can do with leftovers. Why not turn your food waste challenge into an actual challenge by seeing who in the family can come up with the tastiest dish.
A New Year of new possibilities
Christmas is a great time to get out into nature and enjoy the frozen landscape, a time to reflect on the year that has been and to look forward with renewed energy. There are so many ways to contribute and make a difference in the world, perhaps your New Year’s resolutions might include getting involved in the great effort that is making the University of Cambridge as sustainable as it can be.