Smart Christmas and Zero Waste

Title: Smart Christmas and Zero Waste

Content: Christmas celebrations can often lead to excess and waste, impacting the environment. Zero Waste Mauritius offers sustainable alternatives to celebrate in a different way by putting sharing and moderation at the heart of Christmas.

With torn wrapping paper in just seconds, gifts that end up in the closet, and leftover food thrown away after overly lavish meals, the holiday season, meant to celebrate sharing, often equates to excess. Good news: it is entirely possible to change without sacrificing or diminishing the magic of the holidays, assure Sylvia Landon and Victoria Desvaux from Zero Waste Mauritius. "Sustainable alternatives exist! We can enjoy ourselves without costing the environment," says Victoria Desvaux.

When it comes to decorations, families have several options: choose upcycled or natural alternatives to make together, invest in timeless reusable decorations year after year, organize a "swap" among neighbors or friends, or explore second-hand shops.

For wrapping, there’s no need to buy new paper that will be torn in seconds. We can reuse gift paper and bags received throughout the year, use newspaper or children's drawings, wrap in reusable fabric bags or cloths using the furoshiki technique, or even make our own gift bags with upcycled fabrics and a few sewing skills.

Regarding the gifts themselves, the approach changes: prefer durable, useful, or truly desired gifts, choose communal gifts instead of several small items, support local artisans and businesses to reduce the carbon footprint associated with transport, give second-hand or homemade gifts, or prioritize experiences like a class, dinner, or concert over material objects.

Bringing Sharing Back to the Center

Transforming the holidays into moments of sharing rather than consumption does not require major upheavals. Decorate the table with items from previous years or natural materials like branches, leaves, or fruits, prepare the cake or log with children, share a movie, board game, or karaoke: all these moments create lasting memories.

Creating sharing rituals can also give meaning to the celebrations: a roundtable discussion about the highlights of the year or dreams for the coming year, for example. Limiting the number of gifts adds value to the gesture: Secret Santa, homemade or intangible gifts become genuine tokens of affection.

Victoria Desvaux, a circular economy consultant, reminds us that every year, Zero Waste Mauritius shares practical ideas to reduce waste during the holidays. For the third consecutive year, the association is launching a year-end campaign in collaboration with a local brand to offer reusable gift bags made from upcycled fabrics. These bags can then serve for bulk shopping or storage. "Once again, it’s about promoting reuse," she emphasizes.

A Realization That Invites Change

But why rethink our festive habits? Because behind the Christmas trees overloaded with new gifts and tables laden with dishes lies a less glamorous reality. "Under the pretext of pleasing and 'spoiling' our loved ones, large retailers deploy massive marketing," observes Sylvia Landon. "This excess often exceeds real needs and results in waste."

The first culprit: gift wrapping, bought, torn, and discarded in seconds. A fleeting use for a production that consumes a lot of energy and water. Many are not even recyclable, covered in plastic or glitter.

Then come the gifts themselves. Often flimsy, frequently bought "just to buy," they end up in a closet before heading to the trash, sometimes without ever being opened. "This is also true for decorations that are not designed to last," adds Sylvia Landon.

Victoria Desvaux raises the uncomfortable question: "Every object requires the extraction of natural resources, unless it is made from recycled or upcycled materials. Today, we extract far more than the planet can bear."

Additionally, there’s the pollution associated with manufacturing: energy footprint, water consumption, poor quality of disposable items. And their end-of-life: many are not recyclable and become additional waste. Plastic pollution does not only come from food packaging: short-lived items contribute significantly as well. Producing so much waste for a few nights? Nonsense, according to Sylvia Landon.

Rethinking Christmas Lists

She emphasizes a central point: rethinking children's Christmas lists. Helping them identify what would truly make them happy, avoiding exposure to catalogs that stimulate fleeting desires, and valuing experiences over objects. Because, as she makes clear, "loving is not buying. Children place more importance on shared moments than on accumulated gifts."

Who hasn’t seen a child enjoy unwrapping more than using the gifted item? Or complain of boredom despite closets full of toys? "It’s important to give less but better, prioritizing what lasts over time or in memories."

The holidays are meant to celebrate reunion and sharing. Perhaps it’s time to return to their essence: fewer items, more moments. Less waste, more meaning. The magic of Christmas has never needed waste to exist.

Making Children Allies

Children can become true actors in a waste-free and fun celebration. Before the holidays, involving them in sorting their toys to give away what they no longer use is a first step. Their participation can then extend to decoration: making salt dough stars, creating crowns with leaves and branches from the garden.

The day after the festivities, cooking with them the leftovers transforms a constraint into a moment of sharing: mini quiches, skewers "with everything left over"... There are countless possibilities to combine pleasure with the fight against waste.

Gourmet and Waste-Free Celebrations

Large gatherings with abundant food: if not managed well, this can lead to significant food waste. However, a few simple gestures can change the situation. Sylvia Landon first reminds us that it is useful to limit the duration of the appetizer and the quantity of "gajacks" so that guests arrive at the table with an appetite.

The ideal is to plan a balanced and limited menu: starter, main course, dessert. "Waste often comes from the multiplication of dishes 'to satisfy everyone'. It’s better to have one unifying main dish, with a vegetarian option, and that’s sufficient."

To achieve this, one should know that an adult portion corresponds to 100-150 g for the starter, 300-350 g for the main course, and 100-150 g for dessert, portions to be adjusted according to appetite, the number of children, and the nature of the dish.

"We don’t want to miss out, but we should aim just enough, plus a little extra," adds Sylvia Landon. After estimating the ideal portions, she recommends planning one extra portion for "the greedy ones" and an invisible backup for "just in case": frozen vegetables, pasta, rice, and cheeses that are easy to prepare in minutes if necessary.

Other practical tips: make a shopping list and stick to it to avoid impulse buying, serve small portions while allowing guests to help themselves, and prepare reusable containers for guests to take home leftovers or freeze them. Remaining desserts can be shared among guests to extend the enjoyment over several days.

And if there are too many leftovers? For a waste-free holiday period, Sylvia Landon recommends reaching out to organizations like FoodWise or Les Cuisines Solidaires to find out which products can be repurposed. However, she specifies that they rarely accept already prepared dishes for food safety reasons, preferring unused raw products close to their expiration date.

Another option: creatively repurpose leftovers. The internet is full of simple and delicious ideas: roasted vegetables can become puree, soup, quiche, or omelet; meat or fish can be turned into kari, rougail, stew, wraps, noodle dishes, or fried rice; stale bread can become croutons, pudding, or bruschetta.