Five Christmas waste swaps to help both tread lightly on the planet and have a brilliant Christmas   Wrapping paper Presents wrapped in brown paper, newspaper and fabric Wrapping that is all or partly shiny and metallic can't be recycled so swap to the non metallic kind or try these options Newspaper, reused and easily recycled, with reusable ribbon to give a Christmassy look Fabric and ribbon, both ideal for reuse Brown paper, well suited to recycling, along with reusable ribbon Christmas catalogues Christmas catalogues With so many shops now online printed Christmas catalogues are an extra rather than an essential. Ring or e mail every organisation that sends a paper catalogue and ask them not to. General Data Protection Regulations allow people to opt out of postal advertising addressed to them by name. Sadly this doesn't extend to junk mail addressed to occupier or with no name or address Use the company's website instead to find out about their products. Christmas trees Library Christmas tree Buying a tree grown in a field on a farm, admiring it for a couple of weeks and then taking it to a council tip is the maximum waste approach. Instead you could Buy a container grown tree, keep it in the garden and bring it in every year Buy an artificial tree and use it every year Or even better a second hand artificial tree and use it every year Use your creativity for an eye catching substitute for a Christmas tree. Everything from decorating a large pot plant to arranging fairy lights in a tree shape on a blank wall celebrates Christmas without the waste. This Christmas tree substitute was created [...]