How to Have an Eco-Friendly Easter

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With Easter just around the corner, many people are scrambling to stock up on Easter eggs and decorations. But what many of us fail to realise is what impact Easter has on the environment. Over the years Easter has become highly commercialized and mass produced, and hardly the season to think about the environment. It is not too late to start thinking green ahead of the festivities.

Buy eggs with minimal packaging - Think of all the cardboard, foil and plastic that is used to wrap a single Easter egg. Opt for eggs with as little packaging as possible. A good idea is to create wonderful papier-mâché baskets and purchase some eggs with no wrapping. Place the eggs in the baskets for a wonderful Easter treat.

Recycle - If you do get Easter eggs wrapped in cardboard, plastic and foil, look for recycling facilities in your area.

Purchase fair trade or organic eggs - If you absolutely have to go the traditional way and buy Easter eggs, purchase the fair trade or organic varieties. Search for stores that are available in your area.

Environmentally friendly decorations - This Easter, why not make your own decorations? It is good for the environment and makes a great family activity.

When decorating eggs, make your own dyes using natural materials and stay away from the pellets that come with traditional decorating kits. You will also have a wider variety of colours to choose from using natural dyes. Some examples include purple grape juice (for lavender), spinach (green), beets and cranberries (pink) and red onion skins (red).

If you plan to paint eggs, purchase ones that are free range if possible. This means that the hens were raised in a comfortable environment and no antibiotics or hormones were used. And the baskets? Try making your own Easter baskets this year. Read some books on basket weaving and instead of plastic grass, use real grass.

Going away for the holidays - Easter is a time when many people go away for the weekend. This equals more cars on the road traveling for longer distances. If you are planning to go away for a holiday break with the family, try to use as little vehicles as possible. Minimise your luggage as well, and make sure your vehicle is properly checked before you leave. This will minimise the amount of carbon emissions you expose into the environment.

As we all know, the holiday season is a time to be enjoyed. By thinking about the environment ahead of your holiday plans we are closer to saving the environment for future generations. So think green during this festive season, and Happy Easter.

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 2:37 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.