Category: Advent Calendar

It’s the Monday before Christmas, the Green Tip Advent Calendar window opens to have a Meat Free Monday. With many people queuing for a turkey today, 10 million turkeys will be slaughtered this year just for Christmas dinners in the UK. With millions set be killed for the festive season, why not spread ‘peace and good will’ to all animals instead?

Not a very Merry Christmas for animals.

Most farmed animals are raised in intensive factory farms, in cramped, overcrowded cages, sheds and pens. With no room to stretch limbs or wings and no access to daylight or fresh air, intensively reared animals are often diseased, injured and dying due to the unnatural conditions they are kept in.

Farmed animals are subjected to mutilations such as having their beaks clipped, their teeth pulled out and their tails docked to stop them from pecking and wounding each other through boredom and frustration. All farmed animals end their lives with a brutal death at the slaughterhouse.

Meat is bad news for the environment

Modern livestock production is wasteful in many ways and, in a world where the resources that we all need to live are becoming scarce, this is simply unsustainable:

30 – It can take 30 bathtubs of water to produce just one beefburger

The Worldwatch Institute estimates that a staggering 70% of the world’s freshwater supplies goes towards agriculture – a third of this to grow animal feed crops. A chicken breast for example takes over 735 litres of water to produce, that could fill up your bathtub 4.6 times.

100 – An area of rainforest the size of a hundred football pitches is cut down every hour to create room for grazing cattle

Forests, the ‘lungs of the world’, are essential in the fight against climate change. But right now they are being destroyed at an alarming rate in order to clear land to raise cattle and grow crops such as soy for animal feed.

1/3 – Almost a third of all land on Earth is used for livestock production

Animals convert plant protein and energy into meat protein and energy inefficiently; in fact it can take up to 12 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of beef. This means that anyone who consumes large amounts of meat may be consuming a disproportionate amount of the world’s available nutrients.

Currently some 800 million people on the planet suffer from hunger or malnutrition, yet an amount of cereal which could feed three times this number of people is fed to cattle, pigs and chickens.

The sheer number of animals being farmed for consumption is having a profound effect on climate. Emissions from livestock of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide pour into the atmosphere trapping in heat. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that livestock production is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while other organisations have estimated it could be as much as 51%

Agricultural intensification and expansion, and overfishing, are also major factors in loss of species and biodiversity – if present trends continue, over the next 100 years or so there will be a global mass extinction of species.

Eating less meat has health benefits

According to the World Health Organization, we eat considerably more protein than is necessary or optimal for health – mostly from animal products. A meat-and-dairy-heavy diet is now being linked to some of the world’s biggest killer diseases: cancer, heart disease and stroke.

On the other hand, eating a balanced meat free diet based on whole grains, pulses (beans and lentils), vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds you should easily exceed the guidelines for eating 5-A-Day. Even better – your meals will tend to be naturally higher in fibre and lower in saturated fat.

Meat Free Monday

Launched by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney in 2009, Meat Free Monday is a not-for-profit campaign which aims to raise awareness of the detrimental environmental impact of animal agriculture and industrial fishing. The campaign encourages people to help slow climate change, conserve precious natural resources and improve their health by having at least one plant-based day each week.

Go Vegan this January

Veganuary is an annual challenge that encourages people to try a vegan diet for the month of January. The goal of Veganuary is to: Inspire and support people to try veganism, End animal farming, Protect the planet, and Improve human health. 

Some ways to participate in Veganuary include: 

• Choosing organic, non-GMO, local, fair trade, and sustainable foods
• Wearing clothing, shoes, and textiles made of nonanimal materials
• Using shampoo, cosmetics, and soaps that don’t contain animal substances
• Avoiding jewelry that contains animal parts
• Not participating in hunting or sports where animals are used

Northants Veggies and Vegans

Northants Veggies and Vegans are non-political group that promotes Vegetarian and Vegan life in Northamptonshire. They have an active Facebook Group that has lots of advice, recipies, and companies posting with meat free alternatives. Members also meet for picnics, Vegan Lunches at ECO HUB and trips to restaurants.

Our Happy Cafés at ECO HUB are vegan. Using saved ingredients from supermarkets with our Food Sharers, we cook something delicious, nutritious and completely meat free every Tuesday and Thursday for you. Join us 10am-2pm, during January, we will also be running some special events for Veganuary too!

To sum up, having at least one plant-based day a week is a fun and easy way to do something good for the planet and our future. Go Meat Free this Monday, try it, you might like it, the planet and animals will definitely appreciate it! Merry Christmas everyone!

The Green Tips Advent Calendar window today opens for you to Swap, don’t Shop, it’s like trading with a difference. You can swap things or even time in exchange for other things. Swap clothes, books, toys and almost anything with friends, family, your local community or with us.

Our ‘Swap Shop’ recognises that things no longer wanted by someone, might be another person’s treasure. By reusing things we cut down on the amount of waste that goes into landfill and reduce the amount of resources that we use in manufacturing of new products. And it saves money!

Wellingborough Swap Shop is a local exchange where you can get something you want by swapping things you no longer need or by making a small donation to the group. You could describe it as a kind of bring-and-buy sale with the option to swap.

What you offer is entirely up to you, as long as it’s legal, not hazardous or not a pet. Examples include: clothes, school uniform, books, DVDs and CDs, kitchenware, pictures, tools, gardening items, curtains and other soft furnishings, children’s toys and baby items.

Join in at ECO HUB, Glamis Hall, this and every Tuesday 12-6pm and every Thursday 10am-2pm, for lots of good quality clothes, toys, books, DVDs and household items, all available for swaps or a small donation.

Host a Clothes Swap

Rather than buying new clothes in the sales, or at the beginning of each season, why not host a clothes swap with friends and family? People often discard clothes they no longer like, have forgotten to return, that no longer fit, or that they don’t have space for. One person’s trash could be another person’s treasure!

To host a clothes swap, you’ll need to: 

• Pick a location (this could be your house, or even your garden in sunny weather).
• Set up a rail or space to hang or lay out the clothing.
• Ask people to bring a few items they no longer wear, but remind people to make sure they’re not stained or broken.
• You could even combine it with another occasion like a movie night, a garden party, or a night out.

If you have clothes left over, consider selling them on second-hand websites or donating them to charity or our Swap Shop. If you’re looking for a bigger challenge, you could scale up your event to your local neighbourhood or community.

Clothes swaps are a fun and sustainable way to refresh your wardrobe without contributing to the impacts of fast fashion. Producing clothing requires land, energy and raw materials, all of which have a big impact on the environment and on people around the world. The UK is one of the most wasteful countries in Europe, throwing away over 200,000 tonnes of textiles every year. Additionally, a clothes swap is a great opportunity to socialise and have fun with friends – and declutter your wardrobe by getting rid of clothing you no longer wear.

Whether you swap with family and friends, organise your own swapping event or join us at ECO HUB for Wellingborough Swap Shop, by swapping clothing or other items with others you can save money, avoid waste and reduce demand for raw materials. Christmas is a great opportunity to swap too, why not get something you want for something you no longer need? Have a Merry Christmas!

Source ‘Host a Clothes Swap‘ WWF

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens to ask you to plant a tree. As Green Tips go, this seams an obvious one, but as someone somewhere once said, the best time to plant a tree was years ago, the second best time is now! You can join us to plant trees, save saplings or take some for your group from our Community Allotment Tree Nursery.

Did you know that Wellingborough Eco Group with our volunteer Nature Rangers and North Northamptonshire Council, planted over a thousand trees in Wellingborough last year? Well, we are going to be planting another thousand trees next year too, do join us!

After successful planting sessions last December (as featured on last year’s Advent Calendar, see video below and header image) and again in March, we are returning to Kilborn park and two other locations to plant lots more trees! We will have tea and coffee available, plus hand washing facilities. Meet at our Tree Planting Stations from 10am.

We will be planting whips again with North Northamptonshire Council and everything will be fully funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We plan to plant a mixture of native woodland species. We have selected the following three sites for possible planting: (Please also see maps below with planting areas highlighted in red):

• Kilborn Park : It would be great to continue with the planting we did last year in this park. There’s still plenty of space and we plan to plant another 500 whips here.

• Gainsborough Drive: Planting along the right-side edge of the greenspace alongside the existing trees. This would include around 300 trees.

• Brickhill Road: Planting along the line of existing trees to create a graded woodland edge habitat. This would include approximately 200 trees.

We are looking to plant the trees in the New Year on the third Saturday of each month, please join us at our planting trees events on the following dates:

• Kilborn Park (500 trees) – Saturday 18^th January
• Gainsborough Drive (300 trees) – Saturday 15^th February
• Brickhill Road (200 trees) – Saturday 15^th March

Come and plant a tree – The trees will be a mixture of hawthorn, dogwood, wild cherry, silver birch, rowan and hazel, bring your spades and join in from 10am! All welcome, we would like everyone like to come and plant trees!

Sapling Savers

We also want your saplings, the trees that have self set in random places where they either aren’t wanted or stand no chance of growing. Could you be a Nature Ranger Sapling Saver?

The plan is to save redundant or unwanted saplings to transplant them to places where they are wanted and can become mature trees. This is part of the More Trees Now campaign, which started in the Netherlands and has now come to the UK and Ireland. The aim is to accelerate tree planting initiatives throughout the UK to stop climate change and support biodiversity restoration.

Simply dig up saplings that are in the wrong place and drop them off to us at ECO HUB or to our Community Allotment. These will be plunged in at our Community Allotment Tree Nursery and redistributed from there.

Community Allotment Tree Nursery

We set up our Tree Nursery at Ladywell Allotments in March 2018, when we were given 28 whips to look after by Welly Trees. Since then we have added hundreds of whips and saplings to the nursery, and so far we have freely redistributed over 150 trees to groups and local councils.

The plan is to grow them for a couple of years and then to plant them (with permission) around the town and to share them with other community groups. If your group would like some trees for free, please do get in touch to find out what is available via email, social media or call/text/WhatsApp 07311 705705.

With so many big corporations around these days, it can be easy to forget there are many businesses out there providing the same service on a smaller scale and often offering a better-quality product or service. That’s why today’s Green Tips Advent Calendar window opens to give you reasons to shop locally and use local services.

So with Christmas just ten days away, and with many of us not having bought all of the treats and presents we want yet; we would like to show you that buying from faceless corporations aren’t good for you, your town or the environment. There are many reasons to shop local, including:

• Boosting the local economy – When you shop locally you contribute to the vibrancy and sustainability of your community. More of your money stays in the community, which helps create jobs and goes back into the local economy, supporting schools, charities, and other essential services.
• Reducing your carbon footprint – Local stores often stock goods that are produced locally, the more locally sourced produce equals fewer transport miles which drastically reduces the amount of co2 emissions in this country. Unnecessary food transportation contributes to over 35% of the UK co2 output.
• Reducing pollution and traffic congestion – When shopping locally, people travel less distance and often walk or cycle to do their shopping, significantly reducing the amount of air pollution and traffic congestion – all of which benefits your local environment.
• Better customer service – We have all had bad or no customer service, the solution is to shop elsewhere. Local business owners and employees are invested in the success of their businesses, fostering a sense of loyalty and trust. This interpersonal connection is often harder to establish in larger, more impersonal retail environments.
• Preserving Character and Culture – Local businesses contribute to the distinctive character and culture of a community. They add to the diversity of offerings and help maintain the unique identity that sets each town or neighbourhood apart.
• Unique products – Small businesses often offer unique, handcrafted, or locally sourced products that you might not find in larger, chain stores. This gives you the opportunity to discover one-of-a-kind items and support the creativity of local artisans.
• Quick and Convenient – Shopping locally can be quick and convenient, especially for daily essentials. Local businesses are often situated closer to residential areas, reducing travel time and making it easier to access what you need.
• Celebrating your community – Shopping local allows you to embrace what makes your community unique. This can result in a more personalised shopping experience, with recommendations tailored to your preferences and needs. It also fosters a sense of community and familiarity.
• Lower environmental impact – Local businesses make more local purchases, which helps sustain town centres and reduce sprawl, congestion, habitat loss, and pollution.

In essence, shopping locally is a powerful way to contribute to the well-being of your community, enjoy a more personalised shopping experience, and make environmentally conscious choices. It’s an investment in both the local economy and the unique character that makes your community special.

The alternative is that our local high street becomes a “Ghost Town”, which would force our community to have no choice but to shop with major national supermarkets or the online giants. Use it or lose it, shop locally and use local services this Christmas. Have a great one everyone!

Find Local Shops and Services

We have produced Wellingborough Eco Map, a map and guide of environmentally friendly services and facilities available locally. These guides were originally taken from a previous Advent Calendar in 2020 to try to help people support good businesses after the pandemic. There have been updates since, including removing a few of the businesses that have unfortunately closed.

Today’s Green Tips Advent Calendar window opens to fix things, because today at our Repair Café, we invited people who needed stuff fixing, to meet people who like fixing things, to repair their faulty items. We do this to save these items from going into landfill, to save resources and to save people money.

What do you do with:

• a toaster that no longer works?
• a faulty vacuum cleaner?
• a sweater with moth holes?

BIN IT? NO WAY!

Wellingborough Repair Cafe takes place on the second Saturday of every month, usually at Glamis Hall, but because today was also their Christmas Festival (where we also had a stall by the way) we changed venues to Tesco Community Room. Todays broken items were:

Item to be Repaired		Model/Type/Number		Issue description or message
PS2				not working
Russell Hobbs 25930 Stand Mixer		25930		Mixer stopped working – no idea why
Kenwood mixer		Kmc010 14f 22 Serial number 0797653		My mixer seems to only run on super fast speed where before it started slow and got faster.
Sewing Machine		Riccar 1000		needle breaking?
Stage Visa PA		200 Light		Unit no longer powers up. Possible power supply issue, originally adhoc issues.
Radio				Bringing in for 2nd time as it has stopped again.
Laptop (1) needing a new component, which I have		Latitude 3420		1 laptop needs a RAM chip upgrading
Laptop (2) needing a new component, which I have		Latitude 3420		the other needs a power port – motherboard cable replacing
Battery carriage clock				Not working
Leaf blower				Not working
Kenwood hand whisk		HM790		Whisk is pulsing and losing power
Bingo Machine				Broken Cable

We fix electricals, I.T. clothes, bicycles, furniture and almost anything. Whatever it is, it might not even be broken – just dirty, and you don’t know how to clean it without damaging it – or you can’t work out how to use it without the manual – book it in on our Repair Cafe page and bring it along. Repairs are free, donations do keep the Repair Cafe going, parts cost.

Here is a great comment Judy (project leader) received last month:

“Hi Judy

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and your team for the repair on my toaster!  Lovely to have it back in full working order.

Kind regards

Adelle”

We are also seeking more repairers, so if you want to share your skills (whatever they are) to save stuff being thrown away, join us. We would love you to get involved! Message us using the form on our Repair Cafe page or via our Repair Cafe Fagebook group if you are interested. Have a great Christmas everyone.

How is your Friday 13th going? Well, however it is, one of the best Green Tips on our Advent Calendar is to save your energy. So sit down, relax and let us tell you more about saving energy, and why it’s good for you and for the planet!

Hope you are sitting comfortably? If your house or flat is uninsulated and draughty, and if your appliances are inefficient, then you’re wasting energy and your money, and making yourself less snug and warm.

There are many ways to save energy, here are some quick easy wins:

• Lighting: Turn off lights when you’re not using them 
• Appliances: Unplug appliances when you’re not using them. Run the dishwasher less often. Use fewer, colder laundry cycles.
• Water: Take shorter showers. Don’t overfill the kettle. Be mindful of how much hot water you use.
• Insulation: Insulate windows, doors, and the roof. Top up your hot water insulation.
• Radiators: Use radiator reflectors to recirculate heat back into the room. Lower the settings on thermostatic radiator valves.
• Boiler: Turn down the boiler flow temperature to 60°C. Turn down the hot water temperature to 42°C. Turn off pre-heat settings.
• Home improvements: Consider replacing your windows with double glazing and depending on your circumstances and property, install solar panels, wind turbines, or geothermal power to generate your own energy.

Energy Savers

Wellingborough Eco Group has set up Energy Savers to help people understand all about different forms of insulation, how to get the most out of the heating in their homes, as well as help understanding their energy bills. We are here to help you save energy and cut your bills. We offer simple home energy advice via our Facebook group, on an info board at ECO HUB and with articles on our website:

• Advice & information for householders
  • Cavity wall insulation
  • Domestic Appliances
  • Energy Monitors
  • Financial Assistance and Grants
  • Getting the best from your gas or electricity supplier
  • Green Electricity Tariffs
  • Heating Systems
  • How much electricity am I using?
  • Insulation
  • Kitchen Appliance Use
  • Lighting
  • Living Smarter
  • Loft Insulation
  • Reading your gas or electricity meter
  • Smart meters
  • Understanding your gas or electricity bill

The pages listed above are just some of the topics we have information about. These pages and more are available on our dedicated website in the main menu on the sidebar, or from a box at the top of the site if using a mobile phone. If you think there’s anything we’ve missed, please let us know!

Wellingborough Climate Action Project

Running from May to September 2022, WCAP hosted workshops and the first 4 sessions were focused on saving energy. They focused on understanding how we use it efficiently and thinking about renewable energy generation. Read about these workshops or watch them on video via the links below:

• Energy Basics
• Energy Use
• Energy Saving (watch video above)
• Renewable Energy and Heating

The project was delivered by Glamis Hall and Wellingborough Eco Group and it’s main aim is to bring people, groups and businesses together from across Wellingborough to start working on many of the practical challenges facing us all related to the impacts of climate change in our community.

It is easier than you think to save your energy! We hope that you find these ‘Green Tips’ useful and they help you to cut your bills and to reduce your carbon footprint. Have a relaxing and a happy Christmas!

Today’s window on our Green Tips Advent Calendar opens for our Eco-Crafters, who have a session every Thursday 10am-2pm, lead by Emma, they want to tell you about making Christmas cards and why…

Making your own eco-friendly Christmas cards is great fun and can help reduce your environmental impact and encourage a more sustainable way of giving: 

• Reduce waste It’s estimated that over 1 billion Christmas cards are thrown away each year, which is equivalent to 33 million trees. Making your own cards can help reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. 
• Reduce carbon footprint – Recycled paper production requires less energy and water than producing new paper, which can help reduce your carbon footprint. 
• Support a greener paper industry – Choosing recycled cards encourages paper generators to prioritize recycled paper production over virgin paper. 
• Inspire others – Choosing eco-friendly cards can inspire others to think about their own holiday habits and make more sustainable choices. 
• Add a personal touch – You can add a personal touch to your cards by decorating them with your own unique content. 

You can also consider other eco-friendly options, such as: 

• Buying cards printed on FSC-certified, recycled card 
• Choosing reusable greeting cards
• Sending ecards instead of traditional paper cards

Make your own Christmas Cards

To help you make your own cards, we made this example for you. You will need;

• Blank card and envelope
• White card/thick paper, same size as your card and enverlope
• Low tac tape, we used washi tape
• Red and green paint, we used watercolour
• Red pen
• Green pen
• Gold pen
• Glue

Here is how to make one:

1. Put tape down on the paper to form a triangle shape
2. Add some red paint
3. Add some dark green paint
4. Add some lighter green
5. Add some green pen details
6. Add some red pen details
7. Add some gold pen details
8. Remove tape
9. Add some black pen details
10. Glue the paper to the blank card

To stop your card being one of those 1 billion Christmas cards that are thrown away every year, why not write it in pencil and add the message ‘please re-use or keep me’. Now wouldn’t be a card that you would like to receive next year. Merry Christmas everyone!

Today’s Green Tips Advent Calendar window opens to give you an alternative to using toxic chemicals in your home. As demonstrated by Judy our Secretary, making these at Repair Cafes and at her How to Make Green Cleaning Products course on 23rd November, here are some Green Tips for some green cleaners…

Natural cleaning products are becoming more popular because many chemicals in general cleaning products are harmful to you and the environment, and some of these toxic chemicals have been linked to cancer and other illnesses. Natural cleaning products can be more expensive to buy, but they can also be made at home with store cupboard ingredients.

Want to waste less, spend less and help the planet? Making your own natural cleaning products is a great start.

Green cleaning products are typically made with ingredients that are biodegradable or recyclable, and don’t contain artificial fragrances, phosphates, or chlorine. Here are some ingredients you can use to make your own green cleaning products: 

• Vinegar – A versatile cleaner that can cut through dirt. Mix one part vinegar with one part water in a spray bottle. You can add herbs or lemon rinds for scent. Don’t use vinegar on stone or ceramics. 
• Baking soda – A powerful paste made from baking soda and water can remove grime and stains from sinks, countertops, and other surfaces. Baking soda also has antibacterial properties. 
• Castile soap – A plant-based soap that’s gentle but effective at cutting through grease and dirt. Castile soap is biodegradable and can be used for a variety of cleaning tasks. 
• Lemon – The acidity of lemon makes it a good cleaning agent that can dissolve caked-on dirt and has a refreshing scent. 
• Citric acid – A natural descaler that can be used on kettles, washing machines, dishwashers, and other home appliances. 
• Essential oils – Tea tree oil is a natural antibacterial with a pleasant smell. Other popular scents include eucalyptus, lemongrass, lavender, and any citrus. 

There are lots of recipes for cleaning products on the internet, to start you off, here is a simple recipe for a multi-surface cleaner. You can wash out and re-use an old spray bottle to save plastic too. All you need is:

• A half litre spray bottle (or double up quantities for a litre bottle)
• A quarter of a cup of white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of eco friendly washing up liquid
• A few drops of essential oil
• Hot water

How to make it:

1. Add the vinegar to the bottle and make a mark on the bottle where it comes up to.
2. Add the washing up liquid and make another mark.
3. Add about 6 or 7 drops of any essential oil such as lemon or lavender. (You can do without this, but then it smells a bit vinegary.)
4. Fill the bottle very gently with hot water so it doesn’t bubble up too much.
5. Put the top on and turn it up and down a few times to mix. Remember to label the bottle so you don’t forget what’s in there.

That’s it! Yes it is that easy and you now have your bottle marked ready for next time so you can just put the vinegar and washing up liquid straight in up to the marks without measuring them.

You can also use some of the above ingredients on their own, here are some examples:

Lemon

• Remove fridge odours. Cut a lemon in half and leave it in the fridge for about 30 minutes – that should neutralise any bad smells.
• Polish furniture. Combine two parts olive oil with one part lemon juice, then apply with a microfibre cloth to make wood gleam.
• Get sparkling dishes. Fill a dishwasher-safe container with a cup of lemon juice (or a few lemon wedges), put it on the top rack and run the load as normal for added shine.
• Buff your pots and pans. Sprinkle coarse salt on the cut side of a lemon and rub on copper, aluminium or brass kitchenware, then rinse.
• Clean your oven. Fill an oven-safe baking dish with water and lemon juice, bake for 30 minutes at 250 degrees Celsius, wait for the oven to cool and then wipe away any grime.

Baking soda

Did you know you can use baking soda and lemon juice to unblock a drain? Here’s how:

• Pour 1/4 of a cup of baking soda down the drain and then 1/2 a cup of lemon juice on top.
• Wait about an hour for the foaming reaction to break down whatever’s clogging the drain, leaving it clear and fresh.

Baking soda is also great at removing smells from carpets and fabrics. Try this:

• Sprinkle the baking soda onto the floor or fabric and leave it for 15 minutes, to absorb the smell.
• Hoover up the baking soda, which will take the smell away with it.
• For maximum freshness, you could add some essential oils to the baking soda beforehand.

We hope that you have found these Green Tips useful, if you have any of you own please do share them with us. If you want to learn more there will be another How to Make Green Cleaning Products course in the New Year, find tickets at https://ticketmaster.co.uk/glamishall soon. Have a great Christmas (and a green clean up afterwards!)

The tenth window of our Green Tips Advent Calendar opens to do something we all do at Christmas, share some food. December and all the festivities is a season of excess, and unfortunately that means lots of food is thrown away, whilst many people go without. If we could share some of our excess food, everyone’s Christmas will be merrier!

What a Waste

The waste generated at Christmas goes up by 30% compared to the waste created during the rest of the year. Over one in seven British consumers buy more food than they need. The biggest culprit is the food we consume. Approximately 66% of people admit to buying too much Christmas food that ends up in the bin. This binned food usually amounts to 42 million dishes of Christmas food.

The UK wastes around 270,000 tons of edible food is thrown away during the Christmas season, which is about seven million bins full of waste/one bin full for every ten people living in the UK. Some of the foods that includes are: 

• Two million turkeys 
• Five million Christmas puddings
• Five million mince pies
• 17 million Brussels sprouts
• 11 million roast potatoes
• 12 million carrots
• Seven million pigs in blankets 

Of course carefully planning all the food you intend to serve over Christmas is the best way to reduce both waste and costs, even then you will almost certainly have an excess, but whatever you do – don’t throw it away. Consider these sustainable alternatives for what to do with your Christmas food waste:

Share Excess Food

• Share food with each other – our Food Sharers group on Tuesdays and Thursdays at ECO HUB or at anytime on Facebook is perfect for sharing excess food. And whilst you are there, we share excess food from supermarkets and foodbanks with you for free, and cook it at our Happy Cafes, to cut down on waste too. You can also share with neighbours, or family and friends, or via online apps like Olio.

• Donate festive food to a charity – any tinned or packaged Christmas foods such as biscuits, cakes, and mince pies are great to share with local foodbanks like The Daylight Centre and Redeem Foods. You could also donate leftover cooked food such as turkey, potatoes, and vegetables to an animal shelter like Animals in Need for feed.

Save, Reuse or Recycle Leftovers

• Freeze leftovers – you can freeze most Christmas leftovers including turkey and vegetables if you don’t plan to use them soon. Ensure they’re thoroughly cool before placing them in separate airtight bags or containers and popping in your freezer.
• Follow Christmas food waste recipes – there are countless recipes for Christmas food waste available. From classics such as turkey sandwiches, curries, and bubble and squeak, to risottos, vegetable soups and more, get creative with your leftovers.
• Compost food scraps – if you’ve got a compost pile in the garden and only a few Christmas food scraps left, add them to it. Fruit, vegetables, peelings, and even the turkey carcass can be composted (though it’s advised you cut it up first to speed up decomposition).

It’s easy to forget about the food waste created during the Christmas season as we are distracted by our festivities, but by getting into the true spirit of Christmas, by sharing, you’ll be on your way to reducing your festive food waste. Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Today’s Green Tips Advent Calendar window opens to clear a footpath; and that was what had planned to do today on Park Farm for our Nature Rangers FREE RANGE session, but this has been postponed to the New Year due to heavy winds and the forecast of rain.

Well-maintained footpaths encourage walking, jogging, and other forms of physical activity, thereby promoting public health and well-being. A clear footpath allows people to be physically active as part of their daily lives, and as well as bringing a range of health and wellbeing, other benefits include reducing traffic congestion, air pollution and outputs of climate change gases.

But walkers wanting to enjoy footpaths across the British countryside are being blocked or obstructed in nearly 32,000 places across England and Wales.

People wanting to use footpaths are fighting back, with one rambler even training as a lawyer to force councils to keep the way clear. A BBC investigation found councils which have responsibility for footpaths had 4,000 more access issues on public rights of way in 2023 than in 2022. Campaigners said this showed a “growing abuse and neglect” of the path network whilst local authorities said “funding constraints” limited what they can do.

If you come across a blocked footpath, you can:

Report it

You can report the problem to your local highway authority, which is usually the county council or unitary authority. You can report to North Northamptonshire Council using the FixMyStreet website.

Move obstructions

If you can, you can move any obstructions out of the way, such as a fallen branch. 

Cut back vegetation

You can use scissors or pocket secateurs to cut back enough vegetation to get through. However, you shouldn’t go out with the intention of clearing vegetation without the landowner’s permission. 

Deviate around obstructions

You can deviate around obstructions, as long as you don’t leave the landowner’s land.

Clearing a path on Park Farm

The footpath we are intending to clear is on Park Farm, we going to reinstate the path runs from Sinclair Drive towards Sywell Road and it has almost grassed over. It simply needs edging and scraping off to reveal the hard surface. Our Nature Rangers will now clear this path on Monday 20th January from 10am to 2pm, do join us!

Join our Nature Rangers on Monday 20th January for a FREE RANGE, tools are provided but you can bring a shovel, come to ECO HUB, Glamis Hall at 10am and we’ll be out 10:30 till 1:30, let’s see what we can do!