Sustainable gift wrapping free in South Taranaki

Environment and sustainability officer Victoria Moyle says gift wrapping can be pretty and eco-friendly at the same time.

South Taranaki District Council is starting Christmas early by running a pop-up free sustainable gift-wrapping station for residents.

So, if you haven't yet wrapped your presents, you can have them wrapped for free with ZeroWaste materials.

The Council's environment and sustainability team will be set up in Hāwera Town Square between 10am and 2pm on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 December, or in Caffeinate (opposite the town square) if the weather is inclement.

"Things are moving really quickly in the world of waste, and this is our way of acknowledging that small changes can make a big difference," says STDC environment and sustainability officer Victoria Moyle.

"Christmas is a time when we see a huge increase in waste going to our landfill. To raise awareness about our disposal culture and help to promote sustainable options our team will be wrapping gifts in brown paper, bio-degradable tape and natural jute twine. After ripping open presents on Christmas morning you can return the wrap to the earth or keep the twine and recycle the paper."

She says wrapping paper has been an issue over the years as the recycling Material Resource Facility (MRF) in New Plymouth gets a lot of soft plastic, foils, decorative paper and ribbon which are not recyclable.

"Gift wrap has to be pulled out of the recycling, which is labour intensive and ends up making its way to the landfill where it doesn't break down."

Victoria says STDC endorses Zero Waste and encourages all residents to consider sustainability during this festive season, whether that means giving presents in reusable bags or compostable paper, sharing or freezing left-overs from Christmas lunch or recycling your glass bottles.

"Let's give our environment, our planet, a present this Christmas and reduce waste."