Small changes will make a big difference tis Christmas.
SNP MSP Neil Gray (pictured) is urging people across Scotland to have a sustainable Christmas by making small changes to their usual habits.
The MSP is focussing on two areas where everyone can do things differently and help reduce the level of waste this festive period – gift wrapping and festive food.
The appeals from Neil Gray comes as he recognised Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS)’s findings which highlighted that Scots are expected to use upwards of 19,000 miles of wrapping paper this Christmas – enough to wrap the coast of mainland Scotland more than two and a half times.
ZWS has suggested that if this could be reduced by just a quarter, it could save around 1,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from being released into the atmosphere – the same as 1,042 flights from Edinburgh to New York.
ZWS also estimates that 50,000 tonnes of food and drink is thrown away from Scottish homes in December alone.
Neil Gray MSP is calling on people across Scotland to:
Recycle or reuse wrapping paper (if you can scrunch it, you can recycle it)
Freeze leftover food (bag up leftover food for the freezer)
Commenting SNP MSP Neil Gray said:
“We are all looking forward to enjoying a far more festive Christmas with our loved ones this year – filled with love, laughter and all the usual Christmas treats.
“We can make it even better with simple changes to our usual habits that will reduce our level of waste.
“I’m asking people across Scotland to focus on three parts of the festive period – packaging, clothing and food – where we can do things slightly differently to make the holidays more sustainable.
“People want to help tackle the climate crisis and I know that we all sometimes question how much of an impact our individual contributions can have, but the difference we can all make this Christmas should not be underestimated – small changes really will make a big difference.”
