How to make your Christmas greener

Oliver Heath, the former TV presenter, who now runs eco-friendly interior architect/design business ecocentric, explains how to have a green Christmas

Decorate your home with natural and recyclable materials

Try using sprigs and branches, incorporating berries where possible; holly, mistletoe, fir tree sprigs, and pine cones. Make a festive mobile with some of these materials for a more dynamic spin.

Make your own cut-out decorations from coloured papers. Remember the snowflakes you used to make as a kid? Fold a piece of paper into quarters then cut out bits before unfolding to reveal the individually designed snowflake. Or make other hanging paper ornaments, incorporating the shapes of leaves, birds and animals.

Buy recycled-material gifts

There's something for everyone at www.ecocentric.co.uk. If that's not for you, then try to buy positive presents that will make a difference to the lives of the recipient or those around them, such as bicycles, juicers, photovoltaic chargers for gadgets, or even a wind-up radio.

Save food scraps, peelings and cuttings onto a compost heap

Get information on what you can and can't compost and how to do it at Garden Organic, the national charity for organic gardening.

Recycle your Christmas cards

Approximately a billion Christmas cards are sent every year - that's 17 for every man, woman and child in the country.

These don't have to go straight into the bin but can be used to raise money and create new woodland areas (as scrap pulped paper) for the Woodland Trust. Find Woodland Trust - use the recycling bins in branches of WH Smith and Tesco.