Festive plea to use tea towels to wrap gifts

The council encouraged residents to re-use, reduce, regift and recycle this festive season to help keep costs down and help the environment

A local authority has urged residents to give "experiences" rather than things this Christmas and to wrap presents using materials like old newspapers, tea towels or brown paper tied with twine.

East Suffolk Council's new Circular Christmas campaign aimed to encourage people to re-use, reduce and recycle.

It also wanted to promote shopping locally, buying second-hand gifts, regifting unwanted items and recycling holiday waste.

The council said the campaign was inspired by the circular economy model that involved "producing, consuming, reusing and recycling materials for as long as possible to reduce the impact that single-use items have on the environment".

Green councillor Sally Noble said the campaign "gets to the heart of our aims and ambitions"

The campaign website said: "By reducing, reusing and recycling, we can enjoy the festive spirit while being kinder to the planet and it’s more budget-friendly too.

"Let's make this Christmas a time of giving – not just to each other, but to the planet as well."

Sally Noble, Green cabinet member responsible for the environment, said the campaign "gets to the heart of our aims and ambitions as a council".

"In particular, it supports the delivery of positive environmental impacts and, with the cost of living remaining such an issue, we know that reusing or regifting can help ease the financial strain the Christmas period can bring," she said.

The campaign is intended to run beyond the festive period to develop a wider focus on how people can save money on purchases while also being environmentally conscious and aware of the waste produced all year round.

Residents were also being encouraged to donate unwanted items to charity shops before the Christmas period begins, to give others the opportunity to purchase these items for their own gifting.