Quinte Conservation has seven great tips to make your holiday celebrations easier on the environment this year.
1. If you’re cooking and having company over, chances are you can get away with lowering the heat in your
house, the body warmth and heat from the oven will help compensate.
2. Use a real tree – then recycle it after Christmas! Though it may feel sad to cut down a tree for the holidays,
consider that most Christmas trees are grown exclusively for this purpose so you’re not contributing to
deforestation, and after it can be shredded and turned into mulch. Plastic trees, in contrast, require
petroleum to make, and then can’t be recycled easily when you’re through with them.
3. Shop locally, you’ll find items that haven’t traveled thousands of miles. This will reduce your carbon footprint
and support local businesses. You will also “spare the air” by not driving long distances.
4. Buy gifts that do not require batteries. Every year thousands of batteries are bought during the holidays. Old
batteries are an environmental hazard and fill up landfills.
5. Save some paper by using last year’s cards to make gift tags.
6. Food wastage can also be a challenge during the holidays – instead of throwing scraps, leftovers and
peelings into your bin, dig them into your garden or better still, buy yourself a worm farm this Christmas and
use the vegetable refuse to help you start feeding them.
7. Adopt an Acre of Quinte Conservation land for someone special on your gift list. These are great “stocking
stuffers” or gifts for teachers and coaches. For just $20.00 you can assist in the preservation of local
conservation lands. You can Adopt An Acre online by visiting Quinte Conservation’s website at
www.quinteconservation.ca or by calling the office at (613) 968-3434.