While we’re all out enjoying our beautiful Aotearoa this holiday season it’s good to think about keeping it beautiful for all Kiwi Christmases still to come too. Check out these sustainable celebration tips from Tom ‘Tiramisu’ to help.
Sustainable Silly Season 🎄
The holidays are always such an exciting time and that’s more than true at My Food Bag! We love sharing the mouth-watering creations our chefs whip up, digging in to delectable desserts, supporting Kiwi charities and embracing the Christmas cheer all around. This year, we’re proud to add thinking sustainably to that list.
Now that we’ve explored ways to think sustainably heading into the holiday break and shared some fun ways to reuse your packaging, we wanted to share some tips to help out on the big day.
Classics Done Consciously 🎀
We all have special traditions for the holiday season and it can be hard to change them. But there are a few super common traditions that can be made 100x more sustainable with a bit of easy mindfulness.
🎉 Christmas Crackers – These meal time blasts always provide a bang at any bash. But often they contain small plastics which wind their way around to landfill. This Christmas, have a look at what’s included in your crackers and make a pick for a plastic free option. When tidying up, make sure to recycle everything. Or if you’re looking for a fun task in the lead up, try making your own! They’re super easy and a heap of fun.
🧦 Stockings – Everyone loves exploring what hidden treats are inside their stocking on Christmas morning. When you’re filling yours this year try slot in little delights that are packaged without plastics. If you have some time this Sunday, maybe even bake and wrap up a few sweet goodies for some extra homely cheer.
📆 Advent Calendars – We’re getting close to the day now but this is one for next year. A reusable advent calendar is a super creative, new and fun way to reduce your Christmas waste. Single use advents contain a lot of plastic and are often filled with refined sugar and preservatives. With a bit of extra prep in November and some baking inspiration, you can have double the joy with less impact on the environment.
Say No to Food Waste 🥪
Christmas is known for large meals and lying on the couch stuffed with food. It also means there’s quite often a heap of food wastage this time of year. Food wastage is one of the biggest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions and one of the easiest things for you to reduce your impact on this summer! Having a focus on no food waste is key to sustainable Christmas celebrations.
Great news, we have TONS of creative ways you can revive your leftovers into even more delicious meals. We have heaps of tips for helping reduce food waste so pop over and check them out. Our friends over at Love Food, Hate Waste also have heaps of amazing resources to help you and your family this summer.
Recycling & Reusing Your Christmas Order 🎁
📦 Cardboard Boxes – Pop any leftover boxes and other cardboard out with your regular curb-side recycling. Did you know our boxes are made from 47% recycled cardboard? And everything else, including our paper, comes from FSC certified forests, too!
🐑 Wool Pouches – These wonderful liners are made from 100% wool offcuts. The wool pouches are 100% compostable once removed from the plastic lining. They’re also amazing additions to your summer veggie gardens or compost bins. Check out these 15 ways you can reuse your wool pouches!
🥫 Pottles, Trays & Containers – Make sure to rinse any leftover food or oils off these. Once clean, check your councils recycling guidelines and pop them in your curb-side recycling. We also have a handy guide you can use! Looking for a summer family project? Our pottles work great for growing seedlings in or for storing delicious homemade sauces. We have some more tips for you here!
🗞 Soft Plastics – Make sure to wash all your soft plastics. Once clean you can drop them off in a plastic bag at your local soft plastics recycling station.
🧊 Gel Ice Packs – The gel in these packs is non-toxic and designed to make sure your food is confidently and safely kept chilled for extended periods of time. They’re great to keep handy for chilly bins or for small summer injuries. Once done and defrosted empty the gel into the trash. The gel is made with a SAP (super absorbent polymer) and it is an inert media so does not release harmful gases when in landfill. The remaining soft plastic can then be recycled at a soft-plastic recycling station.
We have information and guides on how to recycle all our packaging over on our website! Check it out below!
