In Britain each year at Christmas we use enough wrapping paper to reach the moon – and most of it can’t be recycled. Yet there are eco-friendly ways to wrap gifts that don’t cost the earth (in any sense).
Last year I bought some eco-friendly gift bags from Amnesty International. Made of newspaper, they were produced by a group in India. The work provided the group with an income, which in turn gave them a way to support their families.
Wrapping gifts in newspaper or brown paper is environmentally friendly and we could make it a fashion statement.
Then there’s the food waste. I was shocked to learn that In Britain alone, 4,000 Christmas dinners are thrown away because too many people buy much more than they need. An organisation called Olio encourages people to share leftover food by advertising the extra food on line. At Christmas they help people to share leftover food. See their website for details.
Christmas is an ideal time to think more carefully about our own recycling and in this way care for the earth as Pope Francis encourages us to do. And we really don’t need the latest fridge or washing machine.
I’m a board member of the charity Glasgow Play-Resource Association (GPA). Originally known as Glasgow Playschemes Association the charity began by people banding together to buy resources. My advice to anyone setting up a similar group is to buy in bulk – it’s often cheaper. And the fun that children get from making their own wee gifts for the family far outweighs expensive bought presents. Used Christmas cards can provide materials for this – so don’t throw them out, save for next year.
GPA now accepts loads of things to recycle – from milk bottle tops to buttons, beads, needles, thread and wool. Empty sweetie tins? Organisations like GPA can use them for arts and crafts with children, young people and older people in nursing homes. Ask around your local area before you consign these sorts of items to the bin. Even your unused stationery could be used by playgroups and craft groups.
All charities have a funding problem. They will be staffed by volunteers so may not get back to you immediately. Be patient and don’t give in to throwing out.
Pope Francis urges us to care for our earthly home. In his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, he reminded us that St Francis ‘helps us to see that an integral ecology calls for openness to categories which transcend the language of mathematics and biology, and take us to the heart of what it is to be human’. Being imaginative with what is no longer of use to us personally can help change the world.
Sir David Attenborough told the world leaders that we are at a critical stage of preserving our world. We can all make the three ‘Rs’ our motto in 2019 to preserve our earth for future generations - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Sr Margaret Rose Bradley SND Chairperson, Board of Directors, Glasgow Play-Resource Association. Unit 1, 135 Moffat Street, G5 0ND
www.glasgowplay.org.uk