A giant Christmas tree made of plastic bottles is seeking to raise environmental awareness

As the most indulgent time of the year, Christmas isn’t exactly environmentally friendly. However, in a tree-mendously festive move, the Landmark, Mandarin Oriental is donating funds – raised via a donation box made of reclaimed wood – to Hong Kong based environmental charity Plastic Free Seas, an institution dedicated to tackling the use of disposable plastic that is harmful to our natural environment. Revellers can even make a wish – written on recycled paper – to Santa – who only drinks Coke from glass bottles – and hang it from the Yuletide structure.

The four-metre tall tree is made out of 500 plastic bottles, the number the Landmark MO currently gets through every 24 hours, as a way of highlighting the staggering amount of plastic sent to landfill each day in a city of over 250 hotels. Documentary film Before The Flood is being shown on a small television, housed in a box made of reclaimed wood, if you require further convincing of the need for environmental action.

With Hong Kong’s landfill sites at bursting point and no solution to the problem forthcoming, it’s good to see the luxury side of the hospitality industry taking action to curb the irresponsible level of plastic being tossed in the bin every single day. If you want to make a Christmas wish and to do so in a slightly more green fashion, this is the place to do it.

Now let’s all go out and buy a load of cheap plastic toys and wrap them in polyethylene coated paper, cellotape and polyester ribbons – fa la la la la, la la la la. Sam Sinha