Christmas is always a time of over-consumption, but do you know exactly how much stuff is thrown away over the festive season?
Although it’s a time of joy and celebration, the reality is that there is a massive increase in waste production at Christmas time. Whether it’s packaging, wrapping or food, most households end up filling their bins a lot more. In fact, Christmas contributes to a large spike, with around 30% more waste created than at other times of the year.
Waste in numbers
On average, UK households get rid of more than three refuse sacks of packaging each Christmas and we use 227,000 miles worth of wrapping paper – enough to wrap around the Shard in London 4,567 times.
Environmentally conscious
Many of us are aware of our role in preventing ecological damage and make conscious decisions about trying to minimise it. There are now a variety of options for using more environmentally friendly packaging, which is made from recyclable materials and is compostable or recyclable after use.
Cardboard packaging is one area which has seen manufacturers and delivery companies make efforts to reduce the amount of waste created. As consumers, we can decide to use sustainable packaging and wrapping and if you are struggling to find, suppliers such as capscases.co.uk/services-2/sustainable-cardboard-packaging have a range of sustainable products.
Rather than buying standard gift wrapping, consider recycled cardboard, which you can make handmade decorations for. It’s also important to sort and recycle your waste properly, removing any ribbons and bows and flattening cardboard before putting it in the bin.
