Sustainable Seasonal Celebrations
There are many ways to make your seasonal celebrations more sustainable. Check out our top tips below offering a range of suggestions you may like to try.
If you have some top tips you'd like to share please contact our Sustainability team and we can add them to these pages.
- Spring cleaning: an important part of entering a new year. But, instead of throwing away after your spring clean, either pass your unwanted items on to someone else if they are usable, or recycle them.
- Reuse, or buy second-hand or vintage clothes for a new outfit – the fashion industry is a huge contributor to climate change.
- Share extra / left over food with your friends to reduce food waste.
- Save the trees: Think about sending electronic angbaos instead of paper ones – the trees will thank you!
- Sustainable fish – make sure the seafood you eat is harvested sustainably. Visit https://www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/
For more tips, see:
- Go green with your decorations - Choose reusable, biodegradable or handmade decorations, and reuse, or buy second-hand or vintage clothes for a new outfit – the fashion industry is a huge contributor to climate change.
- Say no to balloons - balloons take months or years to biodegrade, the plastic polymers will break down into carbon and microplastics which damage the environment and can harm wildlife.
- Reduce your food waste – don’t over cater, and also send food home with your guests. You can also use this as an opportunity to buy local, or buy from bulk stores to reduce packaging
- Choose reusable tableware – if you don’t have enough ask friends to bring some as well, or see if a local Library of Things or rental company has some you can borrow.
- Shop locally for snacks and drinks - this reduces your food miles and supports the local economy.
- Offer home made food - Homemade food is one of the easiest ways to control packaging waste when catering at home. For example, slicing and oven drying vegetables with added oil and seasoning can make tasty vegetable crisps.
- Go to a shared firework event rather then having your own. Use public transport if you can, take your own food in reusable containers, and take your waste home with you.
- Recycle any waste you do create. Visit our Recycling pages to find out what you can recycle - including small electrical, textiles and batteries.
For more tips, see:
Are you getting more conscious of keeping your Christmas green this year? You're not alone: plenty of us are looking for ideas to help us to reduce waste and energy, and recycle more during the festive period. Here are our top tips to help you go green and maybe save yourself some money too:
Top tips for an environmentally-friendly Christmas
- Buy Local
Shopping locally means your money stays in the community, reduces waste from all that parcel and delivery packaging and helps the circular economy. Shopping local also gives you access to locally produced, unique items that make great gifts and haven’t been mass-produced. And don’t we all like the friendliness and the personal nature of interacting with owners of small businesses?
Supporting our local shops may mean that you don’t need to use your car. Car emissions account for 15% of the UK’s overall carbon emissions according to the Energy Saving Trust – that’s 85 million tonnes – and many of those journeys are not actually necessary. - Buy recyclable wrapping paper and cards
Buy wrapping paper that can be recycled at home. Look for the rolls that aren't wrapped in plastic and don’t have too much glitter. Do you know about the wrapping paper test? If it scrunches it can be recycled, if it doesn't it needs to go in the general waste. Choose cards and wrapping that pass the scrunchtest and avoid those with glitter or foil that can’t be recycled. - Recycle everything you can at home
We understand that not all waste can be avoided, so remember to recycle as much as possible. Recyclable items include Christmas cards, wrapping paper (that passes the scrunch test), paper bags, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles (with lids on), plastic pots, tubs (including sweet/chocolate tubs), trays (including black plastic), toothpaste tubes, tins, cans, foil, and even Pringles tubes. Just make sure your recycling is: - Get creative with your decs and gift food and drink
Try to avoid buying new tinsel every year because it can’t be recycled. Why not try making your own decorations instead? A top-tier zero-waste gift is food and drink! Make your own to save money or look to our fantastic local farm shops in the Horsham District for inspiration and hampers. If you buy or cook something tasty in recyclable packaging, there’ll be no waste at all! - Recycle small electricals and batteries
Have last year’s Christmas lights blown? Are you having a clear-out of broken electricals ahead of Christmas? Recycle them with our small electricals and textiles free collection service, or get them repaired at your local Repair Café. Use rechargeable batteries and make sure you recycle single-use ones with our free batteries recycling service - Recycle your soft plastics
Soft plastics cover all sorts of festive packaging, including film wrappers for biscuit trays, fruit and vegetable packaging, film lids and more. Did you know you can now take soft plastics to lots of local supermarkets in Horsham District? Have a look online to find your nearest scheme and read some more plastic recycling opportunities. - Avoid food waste
Plan out your Christmas food shop so you don’t waste a thing. Over 40% of the rubbish by weight in an average bin is made up of food waste. Check out Love Food Hate Waste’s handy tool for creating good food habits. We will start collecting household food waste across the District in Spring 2026. Community fridges often have surplus food in the days after Christmas and new year. Why not call in and collect a few items so good food doesn’t end up in the bin. UKHarvest and Fare Divide rely on the community to use this rescued food quickly, it’s an easy, feel-good way to cut waste and support local efforts.
Fare Divide
UK Food Harvest - Recycle your advent calendars
Don’t forget to recycle your disposable advent calendar after Christmas. Just separate the foil, plastic and card and pop it in your recycling bin. - Use a timer
Set your lights on a timer to save energy this year. And using LED lights are even better at saving energy. Using less energy will also help you save money on your bills. - Recycle any waste you do create. Visit our Recycling pages to find out what you can and can't recycle in your kerbside collection service.
Christmas tree collections
If you have opted for a real tree this year, there are several places to book a Christmas tree collection to pay a charity to remove your tree. This benefits the charity as a fundraiser, and also lets the resulting woodchip be used for paths, landscaping, gardening, etc, as a more sustainable reuse. Local PTAs often collect trees as well, so worth checking Facebook pages for notifications.
charities collecting trees include:
- St Catherine’s Hospice: Horsham District Council is pleased to be partnering with St Catherine’s Hospice by providing them space to chip their trees: Discover their Christmas Tree Collection service
- The Just Helping website matches you with your local charity. Just enter your postcode to check if there is a Christmas tree charitable collection in your area.
- Henfield collections
- Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity
- Horsham Scouts
- Sustainable lighting – many modern candles are made with fossil fuel based paraffin – this year go greener with beeswax, coconut wax, or even go back to the very heart of Jewish tradition and light olive oil lamps.
- Durable Menorahs and dreidels – buy ones that will last for a long time and can be used time and again. If yours is looking a bit sad, brighten it up with some natural cleaning products.
- Go reusable and green: Choose reusable gift bags and home made decorations and gift wrap.
- Sustainable food – Stop by your local farmers market and stock up prior to making your Hanukkah latkes. Think about swapping in some meat or dairy free food items. Also make sure you are not wasting food by shopping smartly, or sending home food with your guests.
- Gifts – buy local, ethical and environmentally friendly gifts, or make your own, and make sure you also wrap it sustainably. Or you can make charity donations in people’s names instead, or give gift vouchers to local businesses.
- Recycle any waste you do create. Visit our Recycling pages to find out what you can recycle - including small electrical, textiles and batteries.
For more tips, see:
Bonfire Night can be great fun but it can also generate a significant amount of waste and environmental pollution. There are plenty of ways to enjoy Bonfire Night whilst also keeping your activities sustainable and reducing its environmental impact. Here are some of our top tips:
Go to a public display of fireworks
- Why not save yourself money and enjoy some spectacular fireworks by going to a public display instead of a private one. Not only are organised displays cleaned up properly, you will also have the joy of celebrating as a community and spending time with old friends and new!
Alternative fireworks
- Some types of fireworks are more sustainable than others. For example white burning ones and ground-level fireworks are easier to clean up and have less chemicals. And don’t forget to dispose of them safely! You might even be able to find a drone or light display instead.
Safe bonfires
- If you do want your own bonfire, don’t forget to only burn untreated wood so that you don’t release harmful chemicals. And don't forget to check for animals such as hedgehogs which love to hide under wood piles, before you light up!
Sky lanterns
- These lanterns, whilst pretty, are hazardous to both wildlife and the environment. Once they have fallen the lanterns become litter, and their metal frames can harm animals or start fires. Opt for safer, more eco-friendly alternatives, or better yet, skip them altogether.
For more tips, see below:
- Recycle Now - Eco friendly Bonfire night
- Burn Bright waste Light/
- how-to-prepare-for-bonfire-night/
- goodenergy.co.uk/blog/eco-friendly-bonfire-night/
- wildmag.co.uk/post/bonfire-night-done-right-wild-s-tips-to-enjoy-a-safe-sustainable-guy-fawkes-night-this-year
- lovefoodhatewaste.com/blog/7-bonfire-night-feast-ideas
Annually celebrated on 31 October, Halloween in England is nowadays enjoyed by families and usually involves dressing up in scary costumes, giving out sweets (Trick or Treating), decorating carved pumpkins, parties or watching scary films! Much of this can be brought in the shops but there are many ways to be more creative, and sustainable, with your celebrations:
Costumes and decorations
Why not get creative, involve the kids, and make your costumes at home, re-purposing items like sheets, cardboard and other spare items around the house instead of buying expensive use-once costumes. You can also re-use decorations year after year instead of buying new ones every year and throwing the old ones away.
Sweets and treats
Buy treats for yourself or others from local retailers – we have vibrant markets and local traders throughout the District. Or have fun making your own!
Pumpkins
- Buy from a local farm. A Halloween staple, you can make your Halloween more sustainable by buying a pumpkin from a local farm to support local business and reduce your food miles. Try this website to find your local pick-your-own pumpkin farm. (https://sussexexclusive.com/pyo-pumpkins-in-sussex/
- Decorate your pumpkin: Decorating your pumpkin instead of carving it means the whole thing stays fresh until you’re ready to eat. There’s still loads of room for creativity, spookiness, and something to show off on your windowsill or doorstep. Need some inspiration? Here are 10 favourite ways to decorate yours.
- Make delicious pumpkin recipes: Don't throw away the delicious pumpkin after carving but make the most of it by checking out these delicious recipes. And don't forget that Halloween pumpkins are grown for size, not taste. Forget the myth that bigger is better and pick a smaller pumpkin this year, it'll be tastier to eat.
- Love Food Hate Waste - https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/good-food-habits/halloween-make-most-your-pumpkin
- BBC Good Food https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/pumpkin-recipes
Pumpkin recipe ideas
- Eat your pumpkin campaign, from Hubbub.org.uk - https://hubbub.org.uk/eat-your-pumpkin
For more tips, check out these weblinks below
- https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/10-green-halloween-tips
- https://www.asustainablelife.co.uk/how-to-have-a-sustainableish-halloween/
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/63075645
- https://greenecofriend.co.uk/eco-friendly-halloween/
- https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/oct/30/sustainable-halloween-conservation-tips
Diwali is the festival of lights. Celebrated at the start of the Hindu New Year, it symbolises the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance . It’s celebrated by millions of people around the world from several different faiths including Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.
Families celebrate by decorating their home with lights, giving eachother gifts and sweets, offering pujas (prayers), shared meals, and enjoying fireworks. As with many of our seasonal festivities these events can often generate a lot of waste. Here below are a few tips for making your Diwali celebrations as green and sustainable as possible.
Reduce Food Waste
- Plan out your meals and make sure you store your food correctly to reduce wasting it. If you find yourself with extra, you can always share it with neighbours and friends!
Lights
- A great tip is to invest in rechargeable batteries to reduce your waste, but if you can’t, make sure you recycle them properly using the Council's free battery recycling service.
Clothing
- New clothes have a high impact on the environment. You can make your clothing choices more environmentally friendly by mixing up a new style from existing clothes, and keeping your clothes in good shape so they don’t get worn out and can be used year after year.
For more tips, see below
- https://www.lesswaste.org.uk/2024/10/21/celebrate-diwali-sustainably/
- https://thebetterindia.com/sustainability/sustainable-eco-friendly-green-diwali-gift-options-festival-celebration-10547909
- https://www.secret-retreats.com/blog/events/the-festival-of-lights-sustainable-diwali-experiences-in-indias-iconic-retreats.html
- https://fillmefeed.com/eco-friendly-diwali-sustainable-ways-to-celebrate-without-missing-the-fun/
- https://gosharpener.com/blogs/608059/Lighting-Up-Diwali-Responsibly-7-Sustainable-Ways-to-Celebrate-the
Stay Informed:
Find out how you too can make simple changes to make a big difference, and don't miss the top stories by signing up to our monthly climate and environment email newsletter