It should be no surprise that the Christmas season is the worst time of the year for the planet, executive consumption and an overloaded recycling system leads to an excess of non recycled waste, which ends up either  being buried for future generations to manage or sent further out of sight to the poorest regions of the planet where the majority of it is dumped or burned. 

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However It doesn’t have to be this way, working together and with the thinking part of our brains we can turn the tide on this seasonal downwash of excess and save the future of Christmas. 

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#plasticpeople

A few years ago, I started #plasticPeople a campaign to spotlight plastic waste and empower individuals to act, with the goal of “making plastic more visible”. This led to an exploration of our family's waste consumption, revealing the startling volume of non-recyclable plastic we generated. 

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So in response, a little more than a year ago  I started collecting all the non-recyclable plastic waste our household generated. This included films, bags, wraps, and packets that would typically end up in the landfill. The volume was startling, one large recycling bag every two weeks. 25 bags a year for that would have ended up in landfill.

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As a typical family of four, we make conscious efforts to reduce our plastic footprint. We prioritise buying products not wrapped in plastic, bamboo toothbrushes, glass over plastic where possible, drinks as much as possible in cans vs plastic. though in many areas options are limited. In supermarkets, apart from loose fruit and vegetables and tinned items, almost every other product in our weekly shopping is wrapped in some form of plastic or another and often in multiple layers. This reality underscores the pervasive nature of plastic packaging and the challenges consumers face in making eco-friendly choices with limited time.

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The Old Brain Problem

Christmas taps into our deep-seated emotions: love for family and friends, sadness for those no longer with us, and the stress of finding that last-minute gift for a distant relative. Modern consumerism expertly targets our ‘old brain’ during this period, bombarding us with adverts and stories that create a false necessity for things like "Elf on the Shelf", Zoom calls with Santa. This leads to worry and doubt, driving us towards excessive consumption without considering the financial strain or the significant environmental impact.

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Single-Use disposable Plastic?

The increased consumption driven by market forces during this time leads to a surge in non-recyclable plastic snack bags, films, packets, and wrappers as well as fruit and vegetables packaging amongst many, many others. 

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Plastic is Oil

The prevalence of disposable plastics is inexorably linked to our reliance on cheap virgin feedstock from fossil fuels. This dependency is perpetuated by those in power, and the recent COP28 agreement highlights how far we still have to go. The removal of language suggesting the phasing out of fossil fuels led António Guterres to remind delegates: “The science is clear: The 1.5°C limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels.” Our reliance on these fuels for cheap packaging must be addressed to pave the way for sustainable alternatives.

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It is the Season to be… Oh23

[It is the Season to be… Oh23] A nude 4-foot tall Father Christmas figure made from just a fraction of the non-recyclable plastic waste collected over the year standing on a plinth in a through fare of Castle Park (Bristol).. A self portrait of sorts, a record of my internal discourse around giving and the impact of doing so in our market led consumerist society.

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It’s about our overconsumption and the over exploitation of our life sustaining planet. Naked, hiding nothing but the presents in the bulging sack. So much of our waste is hidden, this piece puts it all on display. We need to make waste more visible, when you do you start to see the world in a different way. 

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It serves as a stark reminder of the environmental impact of our consumption habits. The sculpture invites viewers to explore and reflect on the pervasiveness of non-recyclable plastic in our lives. Searching over the forms you come across statements like “Do Not Recycle - But we are working on it” from Cathedral City now on show, rather than quietly hide on the back of the pack, how hard they are trying I do wonder as just underneath you are met with the unmistakeable infinity symbol of TerraCycle implying perpetual reuse, this disparity between can I/ can’t I makes it nearly impossible for consumers to navigate and this inevitably leads to inaction. 

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Rethinking Christmas: A Call for Change

There's a dichotomy between our old, emotion-driven brain and our new, thinking brain, often exploited by markets to drive unnecessary consumption.

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Its a big if  but I would love to believe that if we have the time and freedom to think, then we can break free from this overconsumption cycle and protect our ecosystems for the future of humanity and everything we are responsible for.  and maybe even save the future of Christmas.