Christmas is over and things are slowly getting back to normal - but research shows a huge carbon footprint is left behind after Christmas with Brits binning over a quarter of a million tonnes of waste over the festive period.
The shocking figures revealed by Mattress Online show food and drink packaging tipped the scales for the most waste, with over 149,000 tonnes being binned, whilst 50,544 tonnes of food was also wasted.
Christmas trees are high on the list too, as three quarters of people admit their tree goes to landfill.
But even decorations are a serious culprit – Brits bin 68,488 miles of Christmas lights, enough to travel up the UK 78 times.
Waste comparisons
- Leftover mince pies weigh as much as 195 boulders from Stonehenge
- Forgotten cheese is three times heavier than Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue
- Binned food packaging is the same weight as 1.8 billion bottles of prosecco
- Dumped drink cans stack 3.8 million times higher than Dubai's Burj Khalifa
- The amount of sticky tape used could wrap around the world 499 times
- Brits use enough batteries to power 189,000 cars
Emi Murphy, Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, says: “It’s such a special time of year, but Christmas can risk becoming quite intense when it comes to resource use and emissions.
"It’s actually easier than you might initially think to have a planet friendly Christmas though.
"It’s not about being a Scrooge; just making slightly different choices around decorations, food, gifts and travel can really cut down on the impact your festivities have.”
10 festive eco-friendly alternatives
- Opt for solar-powered outdoor lights to save energy
- Use brown paper and twine for on-trend, eco wrapping
- Send e-cards or donate what you would have spent on cards to charity
- Purchase loose food where possible to reduce packaging
- Be creative with leftovers – consider a Boxing Day turkey curry
- Buy or rent a real tree from a UK supplier, like The Christmas Forest
- See if your local council will recycle your tree for you
- Make lists for foods and gifts and stick to them
- Buy rechargeable batteries for toys and electricals
- Go for green gift alternatives like a grow-your-own plant kit
