Low Waste Christmas

According to MA 48, an average of 550 tons of residual waste and 300 tons of waste paper are generated in Vienna during the Christmas week. This is around ten percent more waste than usual (MA48, 2019). In 2020, the Post Office processed more than one million parcels a day in the days leading up to Christmas, further increasing the amount of paper waste generated (Post Office, 2020).  The holidays are also the time when an above-average amount of food waste is generated.

If disposed of properly, waste may still be recyclable. However, it would be more important for our environment to reduce the amount of waste in advance and to prevent waste from being generated in the first place, in line with the EU Waste Framework Directive, which stipulates that the prevention of waste is the basis for all measures.

Anyone who would like to slow down and, above all, reduce the amount of waste they produce at the most contemplative time of the year can also make a contribution to climate protection by implementing some of the following suggestions:

Cookies baking: the handling of eggs

When baking cookies, eggs are often discarded because the amount of egg white and yolk used does not always match. But eggs have a high virtual water consumption as well as an unfavorable CO2 balance, which is why it is not only a pity to waste them, but also bad for the climate. However, it's not hard to avoid egg waste:

• Plan cookie recipes that balance out in the amount of eggs needed: If only egg yolks are needed for linzer eyes, for example - a few more coconut biscuits can be made with the egg whites. 
• Egg liqueur from egg yolks: If there are too many egg yolks left over, you can quickly make an egg liqueur, which can also be given away at Christmas.
• Eggs can be frozen: It is best to freeze egg whites and yolks separately and then label how many yolks or egg whites are in the container. These can then still be used up to 6 months later for pastries or other recipes where they are heated through.

Wrap gifts sustainably

Glitter on packaging as well as "shiny" packaging coated with plastic should be avoided as much as possible, since on the one hand these have to be disposed of in residual waste and cannot be recycled, and on the other hand glitter products can release plastic or metal particles. If you want to be really precise, you should also avoid using adhesive tape to seal gifts. Ideally, gifts should be wrapped in such a way that the packaging can be reused - if this is not possible, it makes sense to use materials that are already in the household and would already be gathering dust or falling victim to the next clean-out. Here are some ideas for reusing:

• Furoshiki cloths/dish towels
• Gift bags, jute bags
• Paper gift bags if they have multiple uses
• Upcyling ideas:
  Book pages/newspaper pages
  Calendar pages
  Sheet music
  Maps
  Comics
  Fabric scraps
  Leftover wallpaper scraps

Avoiding waste with gifts

Well-designed gifts may prevent the generation of future waste and also provide targeted support to companies whose concepts and products are already helping to reduce local or global waste generation. 

• Food rescue subscription boxes: food can be rescued every week with special subscription boxes (e.g. Afreshed, Lebensmittelrettung Österreich)
• Buying rescued fruits and vegetables that have been preserved, such as Unverschwendet or Flotte Lotte can help prevent food waste at the farm level
• Upcycling gifts: either from appropriate stores (e.g. DRZ trashdesgin, Kellerwerk, gabarage, Heidenspass, km/a and many more) or simply homemade - many ideas can be found on the internet
• 4Ocean: through the sale of bracelets made from recycled plastics, the cleaning of coastal sections is financed. Since 2017, more than 8000 tons of plastics have been pulled from the oceans and disposed of properly
• Vouchers for Unpacking Stores
• Vouchers for shared activities means giving time
• Cloth handkerchiefs, cloth napkins
• Hair/shower soaps instead of shampoos in plastic bottles
• Just buy something used and nothing new - at flea markets or in second-hand stores you can find the most beautiful gifts
• There is no recommendation for coffee-to-go mugs or reusable drinking bottles, unless the presentee wants them. The trend gifts of recent years are now often gathering dust and are often still not used

Zero waste decoration

The most important guiding principle for low-waste decorating is: Use again and again. No matter what decoration is used, the more often it is used, the better it is for the environment because: this way, no resources are needed to create new items. In addition, the following tips can be helpful:

• Go for natural decorations: Nuts, Bockerl, fir, rosehip, firethorn or sea buckthorn branches, or even straw for straw stars. In nature you can find, regionally and free of charge, beautiful materials for decorating
• Make Christmas decorations and Christmas tree ornaments yourself from salt dough or cold porcelain (cornstarch, kitchen soda, water)
• Reuse Christmas tree decorations over and over again. Neatly removed and reused, even tinsel on Christmas trees is no cause for concern. If you are looking for additional ornaments for the Christmas tree, you can first look for used goods (e.g. flea markets, 48er Tandler, Willhaben)

Christmas dinner

On special occasions, of course, you want to be an especially good host. Nevertheless, at the Christmas holidays significantly more food ends up in the trash than usual and this can easily be avoided! Basically, two essential aspects should be kept in mind for this: Stomachs are no bigger at Christmas than the rest of the year. And if in between calorie-rich is nibbled (keyword: cookies) and the menus often consist of several courses, it is important that the portion size is rather smaller. A few more tips:

• Learn from last year's mistakes and don't repeat them
• Use portion calculators on the Internet to calculate the right amounts of meat and side dishes for several people
• Always use shopping lists when buying in bulk
• If you have leftovers, think about what can be frozen (e.g. soups, stews, etc.) and what can be reheated the next day or the day after or used for another dish. Don't forget to ask the guests if they would like to take something home
• Share: perhaps someone in the neighborhood or among your acquaintances will be happy to receive a portion of leftover Christmas food to reheat - asking doesn't cost anything and may even bring joy!