6 Ways to Reduce Packaging Waste this Christmas

There’s no denying that when it comes to waste, Christmas is a huge contributor, particularly over a short period of time and unfortunately this results in large masses of waste ending up in landfill. This is predominately related to overbuying and individuals being unsure how to correctly recycle cards, unwanted gifts, wrapping paper, food and packaging of gifts. To help reduce your impact on generating waste we have outlined 6 key steps below.

1. Reuse wrapping paper, cards, bags, and boxes

Prior to throwing out any wrapping paper, cards, bags or boxes make sure you investigate what can be reused for other presents. For example, boxes and bags can be stored and repurposed at a later date as these rarely go out of fashion. For cards, it is recommended you cut out any non-paper elements, including glitters, decorations, and plastic areas, and place the paper into the paper recycling bin.

2. Give away, regift or recycle unwanted presents

According to research, the UK throws away roughly £42 million worth of unwanted Christmas presents every year which end up In landfill. To reduce the volume of items ending up in landfill it is recommended you look to regift presents to family or friends who may benefit from the items more than you. Alternatively, you can donate toys to local charities such as Oxfam and British Heart Foundation. 

3. Donate unwanted food

It is estimated around four million Christmas dinners are thrown away during the Festive season, this equates to:

• 263,000 turkeys
• 5 million mince pies
• 3 million roast potatoes

To reduce this mass food wastage you can preplan meals and parties and buy what you think you’ll need as this can help reduce the need to throw food away which could have been used. If you do find yourself with a lot of food left over then please donate to local food banks, they are put under lots of pressure during the festive period and any donations will be welcomed. Various supermarkets, such as Tesco and Morrisons, also offer food banks and toy donations in a bid to help reduce wastage.

4. Reuse delivery packaging

If you purchase a large percentage of your Christmas presents online it is recommended you make more sustainable purchasing decisions, for instance, understand how easy it is to recycle companies packaging. If you find yourself swamped with tertiary Christmas packaging then it would be beneficial to reuse this packaging to send your own parcels or keep these for storage purposes for a later date. If packaging cannot be recycled or kept, please ensure this is correctly separated from different materials e.g. plastics and placed in the correct recycling bin.

5. Recycle bottles and cans

The importance of correctly recycling your bottles, cans, and glass is crucial in reducing landfill. Not only that, maximising the reusability and recyclability of existing materials also helps to reduce CO₂ emissions through manufacturing materials from scratch. If in doubt you can also check the recommendations on the products to maximise the correct recycling approach for each material(s).

6. Select environmentally friendly suppliers

When purchasing presents this year please pay attention to brands that are offering sustainably packed items as this can contribute towards less materials ending up in landfill. Choosing to buy from environmentally friendly suppliers makes it easier for you to recycle materials and correctly discard products after their use. If you’re looking to switch from a multi-material or plastic packaging material, speak to our team about our alternative paper packaging material, ecoPack.