Christmas trees to rent, food to share – how to celebrate while caring for the planet?

Christmas is a time of joy, family gatherings and tradition – yet it also poses an environmental challenge. During the holiday season we generate significant amounts of waste, waste food and use more resources than usual. The cost of managing Christmas waste can be substantial. Businesses pay product fees that differ by packaging type – for example 0.70 PLN per kilogram of cardboard and 2.70 PLN per kilogram of plastic; the average cost of disposing of plastic waste is about 1 650 PLN per tonne.

In recent years rental of living Christmas trees has become popular as an environmentally friendly alternative to buying cut trees. After the holidays, rented trees are returned to the supplier, who replants or cares for them for the next season; this avoids the need to discard trees and thus helps protect the environment.

Food waste at Christmas is another serious problem. In Poland people throw away two to three times more food during the festive period than at other times of the year; 63 per cent of Poles admit buying more food than needed for the three‑day holiday. The tradition of abundant meals leads to preparing too much. To counter this, the article advises serving smaller portions so guests can take more if they are still hungry, which reduces leftovers. Leftovers can be frozen or transformed into other dishes; after dinner surplus food can be shared with guests or donated to local food‑sharing initiatives. Raising awareness of food waste and its environmental impact can help change purchasing and culinary habits.

Christmas need not mean excessive consumption and waste generation. Simple changes – reducing food waste, using ecological Christmas trees and choosing reusable packaging – allow us to celebrate sustainably. The article encourages readers to make the holidays more sustainable, both for ourselves and for future generations. Prof. Dr hab. Inż. Małgorzata Krzywonos, expert at the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, concludes the commentary by reminding us that sustainable holidays are possible and refers readers to further literature on sustainable food and waste reduction. The piece is tagged with #SustainableHolidays, #Ecology, #Don’tWaste and #UniversityForTheEnvironment.