In 2016, we threw away no less than 227,000 miles of wrapping paper, enough to wrap around the Island of JerseyĪdditionally, if we placed all our Christmas cards alongside one another, they would stretch around the world 500 times. How does wrapping paper affect the environment?Īs well as food, it is also important to think about the wrapping paper and packaging that we purchase, use and discard during the Christmas period.
#COST OF TRUE STRETCH CAGE FULL#
Read about the full impact of Christmas food waste in our Christmas food waste article. Of course, there are also financial impacts, and each household is expected to spend at least £170 on festive food this year, despite 35 per cent of people admitting that they throw more food away at Christmas than at any other time of the year. In fact, the University of Manchester recently calculated that our combined Christmas dinners produce the same carbon footprint as a single car travelling 6,000 times around the world. That’s the equivalent of 74 million mince pies or two million turkeys, at the price of £275 million. The downside to this, however, is that we are producing excess waste and pollution to the point where we are binning 230,000 tonnes of food during the Christmas period. It could be said that overeating is a tradition in itself, but each year we munch and guzzle our way through 370 million mince pies, 250 million pints of lager and beer, 35 million bottles of wine and ten million turkeys!Īccumulated, this means that during the Christmas season, we eat as a nation, 80 per cent more food than during the rest of the year. What is the impact of Christmas food on the environment?
Average extra waste generated over the Christmas period each year, based on January rubbish and recycling collections. With that in mind, however, below is a table of the average extra waste generated over the Christmas period each year, based on January rubbish and recycling collections. Waste is important and will have an important part to play in our future too, but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t enjoy Christmas, or that we should feel guilty about wrapping presents for our friends and family. It is the time when we eat the most food, spend the most money, and of course, enjoy ourselves in the company of family and friends.īut while we feast, wine and dine our way through December and into January, what toll does Christmas have on the environment? Keep reading to find out more. Christmas is by far one of the busiest and most celebrated holidays in the UK.