{"id":3508,"date":"2010-12-24T08:24:35","date_gmt":"2010-12-24T13:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.energyrefuge.com\/blog\/?p=3508"},"modified":"2017-09-05T17:50:58","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T21:50:58","slug":"five-last-minute-green-christmas-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.energyrefuge.com\/blog\/five-last-minute-green-christmas-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Last Minute Green Christmas Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Via ReDesign<\/figcaption><\/figure>Christmas is a special time of celebrating, sharing and being with those we love and cherish. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a time when Mother Earth should also be celebrated and respected. Luckily, there are ways to lower our carbon footprint during the festive season. You may have heard of sustainable Christmas trees, solar lights<\/a> and tofurky<\/a> to replace turkey. But on Christmas day we still find ourselves surrounded by discarded wrapping and unwanted presents, not to mention the heater turned on to full blast. We have compiled a few suggestions to apply a layer of green on Christmas day.<\/p>\n

1. Recycle the wrapping paper<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c when opening presents, be sure to do it carefully to preserve the large sheets. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be able to use them again on another occasion. Ideally we should avoid excessive packaging but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s virtually impossible to avoid it altogether. Keep it or push it to the recycling pile.<\/p>\n

2. The Christmas tree<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c millions of trees are bought every year, creating thousands of tonnes of trash. The garden center you bought them from probably has a disposal system, where they may be converted to chippings.<\/p>\n

3. Save electricity<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Energy Savers says consumers can save around 10% on heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10\u00c2\u00b0\u00e2\u20ac\u201c15\u00c2\u00b0 for eight hours. This is possible without sacrificing comfort, but you need a programmable thermostat for that.<\/p>\n

4. Candles<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c How about saving electricity and creating a cozier ambiance at the same time? Be sure to avoid paraffin wax candles as these are a petroleum by-product. Paraffin candles emit over 10 toxins into the air, according to Californian authorities. Go for plant-based waxes such as soy.<\/p>\n

5. Donate unwanted presents<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Regifting is perfectly acceptable after Christmas. Choose your favorite charity shop linked to a noble cause. Just be sure that you do it with care lest you offend the person who gave you the present in the first place. But it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make any green sense to keep an item which will not have any use for you.<\/p>\n

Energy Refuge wishes its readers a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Thanks for your support and we hope to see you again.<\/p>\n

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