Voice of London

Christmas time in London can be a magical experience. However, it’s been noted that sometimes these Christmas events have caused a lot of waste. Here are a few eco-friendly events you can attend in London:

Sustainable events in London

Carnaby Street

This year, to reflect on the growing matter of climate change, Carnaby Street collaborated with Project zero for this years Christmas lights. Project Zero is a charity that supports the conservation of the ocean, which reflects in the Christmas lights which shows scenes of different parts of the ocean. On the official Carnaby street website, it states that all the materials used are recycled, with 500m of reused bubble wrap, 1500 recycled plastic bottles, 100 litres of eco-friendly, vegan paint, and even the lights are 100% renewable sourced.

Kew Gardens

From the 20^th November to 5^th January, Kew Gardens creates their very own winter trail in through their gardens and glasshouses. This is the place for anyone who wants to be with nature during the cold winter air. One of the centerpieces at Kew Gardens this year, is ITHACA, a Brighton-based company which brings together lights and nature. Creating their very own waterfall, a 10-minute light display which will mirror nature. This comes with other features such as the colour changing vine display which includes over 8000 lights which creates an immersive experience for all ages.

The Giving Bear

Located at Mayfair’s Mount Street Gardens, stands a new Christmas lights addition, a life-sized polar bear made of recycled products only. The structure, made by Kingston University students in collaboration with Veolia, has been created using 3000 milk bottles to reflect the consumption and waste of plastic that will take place over the holidays. The Giving Bear reflects issues such as climate change, however also reflect the issue of homelessness as the polar bear seems to have lost its home due to climate change. In the sculpture, he has been gifted a block of ice, which represents a part of home that the bear has lost.

How can you be eco-friendly this Christmas?

There’re many ways to be eco-friendlier this Christmas. From buying Christmas cards that can be recycled, to reusable gift wrapping. Here are some examples:

Fabric Wrapping – 2019, the year of sustainability, has brought along new methods this Christmas on how you can make your holidays eco-friendlier. The Japanese cloth gift wrap, otherwise known as ‘furoshiki’, looks aesthetically pleasing with its bright patterns and designs, but is also environmentally friendly as it is reusable unlike most wrapping papers. The patterned cloths can easily be used to wrap presents ready for Christmas day, and will be ready to be reused for another occasion.

Make sure cards are 100% recyclable – Some cards contain plastics which cannot be recycled, making sure that cards have the recycling sign on the back is important to make sure they can be reused for other things, maybe even a new Christmas card for next year.

Recycling your Christmas tree – After Christmas, most households just throw away their Christmas trees at a tip or even just leave them outside on the pavement. However, many boroughs in London are offering free tree recycling. Even more so, Christmas time in London also means that you can hire out a Christmas tree. The business ‘London Christmas Tree Rental’, allows you to one hire out a tree for the Christmas period, where they will deliver it to you and pick it up in early January. Secondly, if you want the tree again next year, they will look after the tree so you can rent it again for another Christmas period.

Words by Ivana Finch