How to reduce waste this Christmas
Australians will trash $921 million worth of unwanted Christmas gifts this year which will likely end up in landfill, research has claimed.
Around one in three Australians will receive presents they will not use or wear this Christmas, according to a survey from The Australia Institute.
"Buying fewer presents and focusing on quality over quantity does not just help save the environment, it also spares our wallets during the cost of living crisis," Director of the Waste and Circular Economy program at the Australia Institute, Nina Gbor said.
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Millions of dollars worth of Christmas presents will go unused this year, according to the Australia Institute. Getty
"The bulk of these unused presents are destined for landfill, wasting money, and adding to plastic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and the climate crisis."
Gbor said there are several ways to avoid buying unwanted Christmas gifts this year to reduce the amount of waste.
"Gifting experiences, homemade presents, gift cards or donations in someone's name are great alternatives to presents that would otherwise gather dust or go to waste," she said.
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Woolworths is encouraging people to reuse their festive shopping bags as Christmas wrapping paper. 9Honey
Gbor encourages people to minimise waste from gift wrapping and opt for more sustainable alternatives this year.
Over 150,000 km of wrapping paper will be used this Christmas, the CSIRO has predicted.
Woolworths has recently brought out festive brown paper shopping bags which can be reused as Christmas wrapping paper.
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Australians can donate their unwanted gifts to charity this Christmas to contribute to a greater cause. Unsplash
Op shops, such as The Salvation Army and Save the Children, are welcoming donations of unwanted Christmas gifts this year.
"Donating any unwanted Christmas gifts to Salvos Stores is a great way for those gifts to mean more; instead of sitting unused in a cupboard, they will be sold to raise funds that support people in need," Salvation Army spokesperson, Tim O'Brien said.
"A great rule of thumb is that if it's good enough to give to a friend then it's good enough to donate."
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"Donations can help make a significant difference in children's lives, as the profits from op shop sales support our programs to help vulnerable children in Australia and overseas," Save the Children Director of Retail, Andrena Nowlan said.
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