How to make this Christmas sustainable, and save money

Sustainable Christmas tips can also mean a more affordable Christmas for many. For those in the Newhaven area, there are many innovative to help you save money, and waste.

Lewes District Council have released their recommendations to enjoy a Christmas with as minimal waste as possible.

Their top three tips include: remove plastic inserts and sticky tape from cardboard boxes before recycling, use the scrunch test to see if wrapping paper is recyclable, as only non-foil paper will be accepted. If you scrunch the paper and it doesn’t spring back then it is safe to recycle! Also, donate unwanted decorations to your local charity shop to be re-used.

They also recommend shredding wrapping paper to use as protective packaging for parcels.

There will be collection points for real Christmas trees at: Bay Vue car park, Newhaven. Brook Street car park, Lewes. Piddinghoe Avenue car park, Peacehaven and Richmond Road or Buckle Street car park, Seaford.

In Newhaven, there are multiple community schemes which can help you to save money this winter.

The Newhaven Sharing Library allows you to borrow household items like you might borrow a book from a library. This reduces waste and saves money by sharing and repairing goods.

Rachel Fryer of the Newhaven Green Centre that runs the library, said: “We’re building a stock of tools, camping and catering equipment, baby items and more – all the stuff that you only need a few times a year, but costs money to buy, takes resources to produce and is a pain to store.”

Library items can be collected and returned at their regular Thursday stall outside Newhaven Library, at their Repair Cafes at Meeching Hall, or by arrangement on Wednesday evenings between 6pm and 8pm.

The Repair Café is also a great way to reduce waste and save money. You can bring along any broken household items and their team will help try to fix them for free. The next session is Sunday, January 8 at Meeching Hall from 2:30pm to 4:30 pm.

Havens Food Cooperative runs a community pantry from Havens Community Hub in Denton everyday from 9am until stocks last where surplus food from supermarkets is distributed free of charge.

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