As Christmas approaches, how can we reduce our carbon footprint without becoming the grinch?
Most of us will already have a Christmas tree or be thinking about getting one, but which option has a lower carbon footprint - real or fake?
A fresh pine clocks up to 20kgs of carbon dioxide - assuming you get a fresh one each year - but their plastic friend is even worse - at 30kg a year.
Sarah Mclauren, who's a Professor in Life Cycle management at Massey University, said it's all about how often you replace the tree.
"As long as you keep your fake tree for at least five years you're better off getting the fake tree rather than a real tree."
And if you've got a real tree, once you've unwrapped the presents and stowed away the ornaments - it quickly turns into waste.
General manager at Toitū Envirocare, Belinda Mathers, said it's vital to avoid them ending up in landfill.
"They're great because they do absorb carbon dioxide while they're growing but if you dispose of them in the wrong way they actually emit more green house gases when they are breaking down in the landfill than they actually abosrb in carbon dioxide as they grow which seems a bit counterintuitive."
Burning is also a no as this releases the tree's carbon back into the atmosphere as CO2 right away.
So chop it up, and compost it. Otherwise, put it in a green waste bag or bin - or ask your tree supplier if they'll take it back.
Belinda boycotts both.
"I'm a bit of a wood worker so I've got some bits of offcuts of wood and string and Christmas decorations that I've put together and made something that we put up each year, it's a bit different but still looks like a Christmas tree."
It wouldn't be Christmas without lights twinkling inside and out.
New Zealand's carbon footprint is already smaller in this department, as 80 percent of electricity is generated from renewable sources.
According to Sophie Mclauren, there are greener options to light things up.
"Using LEDs can be a good option, candles - particuarly there's the recent thing of using natural-oil-based candles as opposed to candles which are made from essentially a fossil fuel petroleum."
It is estimated 26,000kg of Christmas wrapping paper is thrown out in New Zealand each year - that's enough to stretch from Auckland to London and half way back again.
Conservation charity Project Crimson's chief executive Adele Fitzpatrick said it was time to put down the wrapping paper.
"Use fabric, find some beautiful fabric and that can be reused, paper - and especially the shiny stuff and the cellotape - it all gets thrown into the recycling bin and rubbish bin, it's such a terrible waste."
Food is also a big one - researchers have calculated a standard Christmas dinner for eight generates about 20kg of carbon.
Fitzpatrick said the key to cutting that down was sourcing food close to home.
"Grow your own. Nothing tastes better than potatoes you've grown all by yourself, things that are locally sourced."
If you cannot part with your cranberry sauce from the US - one large tree absorbs the same amount of carbon every year, so planting a tree would offset your meal not just for the year - but for the life of the tree.
RNZ
