Have an Eco-Friendly Festive Season

by | Christmas, Healthy Eating, Seasonal Health

Christmas is a time when we overindulge in eating and spending and therefore create more waste than any other time of the year.

But as we move towards being more ecologically friendly and aware of our actions, we can continue to live a little this festive season without having a big ecological impact.

Be Ocean Friendly and Choose What’s Abundant

Summer is a time for hosting a seafood lunches, ordering fish and chips at the beach or stocking up at the fish market. Follow our basic guideline to make ethical seafood choices.

This will keep our oceans sustainable with minimal impact on stocks and the wider marine environment. If we all practice sustainable seafood choices we will help the ocean relish and increase the availability of our favourite seafood.

One great idea would be to kick off a Christmas meal with some farmed shellfish from around Australia. Mussels and oysters are a delicious and really sustainable choice.

Some of the suggestions are King George whiting, octopus which goes well on the barbecue, grilled sardines along with things like Spanish mackerel is a great choice. So is is farmed barramundi.

Australian farmed prawns. also go down perfectly for this time of the year. 

Some of the sustainable seafoods that are available this time of the year are:

  • Wild caught blue swimmer crabs from SA & NSW
  • Australian farmed Murray cod
  • Wild caught snapper from Victoria All wild caught Australian sardines
  • Australian farmed barramundi
  • Wild caught Western king prawns from Spencer Gulf, SA
  • All wild caught yellow fin bream
  • All wild caught tailor

To keep our seafood sustainable and further fund research and development spend more of your money fresh Australian seafood. Australian seafood producers are amongst the best in the world and it would be great to give them our support.

Watch out for Waste

This is the season for crazy and wild decorations, but unfortunately when their use is over they usually end up in landfills.

We suggest recycling everyday household items with a little creativity, it will also add a touch of your own personality.

Gift wrappings can be made by using old newspapers and magazines, or last year’s wrapping paper. Gift bags can be reused time and time again. If you are receiving gifts that have paper wrapping, you can either reuse it next year or make sure you recycle it properly.

Unfortunately plastic cellophane and metallic wrapping has to go to landfill, as does tinsel.

Avoid buying Tinsel. It is plastic and is difficult to recycle. If you are gonna use it make sure its reused over several years.

One option is to explore traditional (and modern) wooden decorations, or you could test your own creativity and do it as a family.

Sustainable Christmas Tree

Plastic Christmas trees are not the greenest option but they can be used over several years and become part of a households memory – like a family tree.

Cut trees however are a better option as long as thy are from sustainable sourced plantations. One of the best options is trees that you can actually grow in a pot and repeatedly use.

Using LED and solar powered lights is not only energy saving but can be used repeatedly over the years. Try going for non flashing ones as they use more energy.

To avoid gifts ending up in the landfill, use jars of food and vouchers for experiences, these are an eco-friendly alternative.

Recycle the Unwanted

If waste is unavoidable, be sure to now what can and what cannot be recycled. Don’t put soft plastic in your kerbside bin, or your recycles in a plastic bag and then putting that in the recycling bin. 

Those won’t get recycled and will cause issues at the recycling facility. Also keep an eye out for recyclable packaging, like cream and custard cartons, these are usually recyclable.