Recycled Oxford Street lights to add Christmas sparkle

Oxford Street’s Christmas lighting will be the most sustainable ever, the New West End Company has vowed.
The LED illuminations for London’s shopping thoroughfare will be on a timer which will cut energy use by 67 per cent, and the lighting displays will be made from recycled polymer.
In all, some 300,000 LED lights will be turned on on 2 November.
‘Sustainability will remain front and centre of this year’s Feel the Magic festive display in partnership with children’s charity Starlight’, said Dee Corsi, chief executive of the New West End Company, which represents businesses around Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street.
‘As a result of that trial in 2022, we saw an incredible 67 per cent reduction in energy consumption and have taken the decision that all of our light displays across the district will operate on a timer going forward,’ she added.
Other cities are also moving towards sustainability.
Other cities have experimented with novel approaches to sustainability at Christmas. For instance, the Lithuanian capital Vilnius has had its ‘Floating Christmas Tree’, a massive tree constructed on a floating platform on the city’s river. What makes it sustainable is that its LED lights are powered by a combination of wind and solar energy. It not only symbolises the holiday spirit but also emphasises renewable energy sources.
In Vienna, the Christmas markets have also gone LED and introduced a reusable cup system for its popular ‘gluhwein’ to cut single-use plastic waste.
Last year the lights on Rome’s Christmas tree were generated by solar power in line with the campaign’s messages relating to energy conservation and responsible consumption.  The system allows a reduction of CO2 emissions of 17.55 kg/day which, for the entire duration of the lighting of the tree, are equivalent to 526 kg of CO2.
Another tree, on Piazza del Campidoglio in front of Rome’s City Hall, had its lights powered by volunteers who choose to spin a bicycle-generator.

• Diary date: Circular Lighting Live 2024, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition, takes place on Wednesday 9 October 2024 at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2024 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. More info: www.circularlighting.live