We are now only a few days away from Christmas, and I have to say that even as an adult, I’ve not lost my love of the festive season.
It Is of course very different to experiencing it as a child, not least in the fact that when you are younger it seems to take forever to come around, whereas as an adult you ask yourself each year “where the time has gone?”
Also as an adult, it does of course allow you to be more mindful of the other side of Christmas – the wasteful practice of over consumption, and the additional challenges that this provides to our industry. Every year, I try to minimise my consumption, and shop sustainably, but t is difficult, however, every little effort is still worth it.
In the waste industry, as well as dealing with the additional amounts of waste produced over the festive period, we also have the additional challenge of the cold weather! Unless any of you reading this are lucky enough to be living in a warm tropical location, you will have not been able to miss the drop in temperatures of late and (for some of us) the thick coating of snow that has arrived.
Lots of fun for some, with snowmen cropping up in gardens and fun to be had with snowball fights, but as mentioned, certainly a challenge for our industry and in particular the collection crews facing the dark, cold early mornings. But as ever, they work hard to ensure that waste is collected and services are delivered, and I’d like them to know the appreciation I have for them – both as a member of the waste industry, but also as a resident. Thank you.
Another thing that Christmas brings is some time to step away from work and relax, wherever you are and whomever you are spending the festive period with. As always, this has been a very busy year, and a few days away from the day job to unwind and reset is always appreciated, putting us in a good position to face whatever 2023 has in store.
So what may the New Year bring? Of course the main source of anticipation – and one that has been written about many times within these blogs throughout the year – is the publication of the government’s response to the consistency agenda. Will this be released early in the New Year? As yet none of us know, but one thing is for sure, we need sight of this as soon as possible in order to feel more prepared going into 2023.
In the meantime, lets sit back, relax and have a mince pie or two and enjoy this special time of year. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and peaceful New Year – and I’ll see you on the other side.
