Going green – is gift wrapping a dying tradition?

According to Wikipedia, an additional five million tons of waste are generated over the Christmas period in the US from gift wrapping.

In an age where recycling waste is becoming secondary to not creating the waste in the first place, is the act of wrapping presents a dinosaur of Western culture that should be wiped out?

Although the environmental argument is strong, it makes the assumption that Gift wrapping performs no real role in the giving of gifts – but this is not the case.

In America, wrapping gifts is an act of concealing them from the receiver. The act of unwrapping is watched by the giver, waiting for the reaction of the receiver as they work out what the present is inside the wrapping.

Environmentalists will have to find a way to replace this cultural twist before they can truly begin to wipe out gift wrapping and the five million tons of waste it generates.

Cash for your phone when you sell online

No doubt you will have seen the adverts on TV, promising you lots of ‘wonga’ when you sell your old mobile to a recycling site.

And I’m happy to say that they work. If you want to get cash for your phone all you need to do is log in, enter the make and model of your phone and request an envelope. You don’t even need to pay for a stamp.

I recently sold an old phone of mine after I was offered an upgrade by my provider. The extra cash certainly came in handy, and I got that good feeling of knowing I had helped the environment.