← Back to Insights

The UK generates huge amounts of festive waste, from wrapping paper to food and unwanted gifts. I look at the simple choices that you can make that help towards recycling, reusing, reducing energy use, and buying local to significantly cut your environmental impact.

Did you know that around 114,000 tonnes of plastic packaging are thrown away in the UK during the festive season? This is a considerable increase from 100,000 tonnes the previous year.

Unfortunately, most of this waste ends up in landfill rather than being recycled. Waste becomes a major issue at this time of year, and many of us don’t realise the environmental impact the festive season can have. When you start reading these facts, it's easy to feel a little guilty of contributing to the annual wastage.

But there's some good news. Below are some simple changes in our Xmas habits that can make a big difference!

Wrapping paper

The UK uses approximately 227,000 miles of wrapping paper each year (enough to wrap the island of Guernsey or cover The Shard 4,567 times), and around 108 million rolls of wrapping paper is discarded annually, much of which is non-recyclable due to glitter, foil, and plastic coatings.

Food waste

Approximately four million Christmas dinners are wasted annually in the UK. This equates to 230,000 tonnes of food thrown away during the festive season, including millions of turkeys, vegetables, and desserts. Around 74 million mince pies go uneaten, despite 175 million being purchased.

Unwanted gifts

Approximately £42 million worth of unwanted gifts still end up in landfill each year.

Christmas trees

Around 8 million real Christmas trees are sold annually in the UK, creating roughly 12,000 tonnes of waste after disposal. A 2‑metre artificial tree has a carbon footprint of 40 kg. To offset the footprint, you'd need to reuse it for 10 years.

Electricity use

UK households consume enough electricity on Christmas Day alone to power the Eiffel Tower for 50 years. In the UK we use over 63 GWh of energy to cook our turkeys – the equivalent of powering 23,500 homes annually.

Other key facts

Over 1 billion Christmas cards are thrown away each year. UK households generate 30% more waste during December compared to other months.

There are many ways to reduce waste while still enjoying the festive season. Here are a few ideas to help you celebrate sustainably without losing any of the fun.

Waste saving tips

Here are some great tips to help you reduce the excessive waste you might produce this year.

Wrapping paper

Try and choose paper that can be recycled and remember to recycle it yourself.
Instead of using paper, why not wrap gifts in materials such as scarves.
Plastic‑free Sellotape – it does exist.
Wrapping accessories look great, but try to choose items that can be recycled. Most are plastic, cannot be recycled, and end up in landfill.
Avoid glitter and glitter paper, as they can't be recycled. Even biodegradable glitter is difficult to recycle.

Food

Use leftovers for alternative meals during the holidays.
Freeze leftovers or unused food before it spoils.
Donate unwanted food to local supermarket food banks.

Gifts

Give experiences rather than physical gifts – annual passes for children can help families save money over the year (Monkey World, Oceanarium, Farmer Palmer’s, National Trust).
Choose second‑hand gifts from places like Vinted, Facebook Marketplace, and charity shops.
If you enjoy crafts, make a gift.
Vouchers for stores or beauty treatments aren’t fully sustainable but allow someone to buy something they genuinely want.
If you receive a gift you don’t want, regift it or donate it to charity – don’t throw it away.

Lights

Don’t leave lights on all day. It can be a fire hazard and increases energy costs. Use timers or switch them off before bed and when you go out.
Don’t throw away broken or unwanted lights. Most recycling centres accept Christmas lights.
Use LED lights – they use approximately 90% less energy.

Finally, if you can, buy local. Not only does it support local businesses, but buying local can also reduce emissions.

I hope you found these tips useful to be more sustainable. To all our customers out there, have a safe Xmas and a Happy New Year!