As Christmas approaches, a parakore advocate is encouraging families to embrace sustainability by making thoughtful choices. Arohanui West (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe), 23 years old, has been featured on the youth-driven social media news platform ‘What the Actual’ to encourage more families in Aotearoa to be more sustainability-conscious this Christmas season.
“It’s estimated here in Aotearoa over the Christmas period we send an extra 50,000 tonnes of waste to landfill. That waste is mainly food and wrapping paper,” says West.
West said traditional wrapping paper and food waste are the main contributors that often ends up in landfills, contributing to environmental harm. Food waste also tends to spike over the holiday season, but it can be mitigated by planning meals carefully, avoiding over-purchasing, and repurposing leftovers creatively. Composting food scraps is another effective way to reduce waste and enrich the garden for the next season.
“Those are super avoidable things to send to the landfill.”
Here are West’s tips how:
1.) Food waste
- Eat kai
- Share kai
- Make a plan for your Christmas kai
2.) Wrapping paper
- Use brown paper bags
- Use newspaper
- Consider not wrapping gifts
3.) Gift ideas
- For pākeke: a fruit tree/native tree
- For tamariki: experiences to the native bush/beach/local museum,
- Gifts from whare hokohoko/op shop,
West said by rethinking our habits around wrapping, food, and waste, we can create meaningful traditions that align with the values of sustainability and care for the planet.
“We can enjoy raumati and the Christmas season without our taiao paying the price.”
