By Chloe Tiffany Lee
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – Almost everyone implements this practice in their daily lives BUT what about the festive season? During this season of giving this year, how about giving a thought on how you can protect the environment?
Gift wrapping with old magazines
Gift wrapper is beautiful and its design comes seasonally in many colours and choices. But did you know that they are often dyed, laminated and/or contain non-paper materials such as glitter, plastic which cannot be recycled?
The time has come for us to be mindful with what we purchase. We’re pretty sure that there are old magazines lying around in every household. So, why keep those magazines on your shelves when you can make full use of it? Think about reusing or upcycling them as wrapping papers! At the same time, this might be a way to declutter (wink).
TIP: Wrapping a BIG present? Make one giant sheet of wrapping paper by taping together several pages of the magazine paper.
As long as it’s not Plastic Straws
Stainless Steel Straw, Bamboo, Glass and Silicone Straws
A gift that is safe for use by responsible adults! Designed to last, stainless steel straws are easy to clean and take up little space in your bag when slipped into their hygienic travel case. Apart from the stainless steel straws, there are plenty of options that you can consider – Bamboo, Glass, and Silicone Straws. If you think cleaning it would be a lot of work to do, then try paper straws (at least it can be recycled).
Biodegradable Straws!
- Water spinach stems as eco-friendly straws.
- Wheat and water – Pasta straw.
Reusable containers and bottles
Choosing presents are always the biggest headache. Getting reusable containers and bottles or tumblers can never go wrong. We do need this in our lives and they really come in handy. Did you know that a million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and the number will jump another 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis that could affect climate change? Tick-tock! It’s time to start bringing your own bottles and containers.
By practising these methods, you are already playing a part to protect the environment by adopting the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Waste Program in your daily lives.
