Sortera, London’s largest specialist construction waste management company, has conducted a study which finds we recycle less at Christmas. Over half of those surveyed admit to recycling less between Christmas and New Year, despite double the quantity of waste. Overwhelm by lack of time, what should be recycled and a lack of space drives this hiatus in recycling habits.
A Festive Waste Mountain
Christmas brings a diversion from daily routine for many of us, and our recycling habits are no exception. Sortera UK has found that over half of us recycle less during the festive period. This is despite double the usual quantity of waste at Christmas compared to the rest of the year. 80% of consumers end up with at least one extra bag of waste, and one in three say they put out three or more.
The stress of hosting and an influx of unusual packaging can create conditions of overwhelm at the amount of rubbish. Throwing the whole lot in a single bin bag becomes an ideal solution just to get it all out the way. Stress at the amount of rubbish is compounded by uncertainty over what is recyclable, a lack of bin space and confusion over collection days between Christmas and New Year.
Why We Don’t Recycle Christmas Waste
The Sortera study brings to attention the reasons we give for recycling less this time of year. 80% of those surveyed blamed too much gift packaging, whereas 70% blamed wrapping paper and cards. A lack of bin space was flagged by one third of participants. And 20% said they were confused by bin collection days at Christmas.
Sortera’s Marketing Director, Jonathan Younger, said: ‘Christmas waste doubles, sometimes even triples, but recycling rates go the other way. People feel overwhelmed and the bins fill up fast. The good news is that with a bit of planning, it’s still easy to stay on top of recycling and make sure things go in the right bin.’
Simple Tips to Make Recycling Easy
Google trend analysis shows an increase in recycling as a search term during the holidays. This suggests that we do have the right intentions when it comes to recycling our Christmas waste. Sortera has shared tips to make the mountain of wrapping paper and plastic packaging seem less insurmountable.
Jonathan Younger said: ‘One of my favourites is switching from wrapping paper to reusable gift bags. They look great, save loads of time and can be used again and again, just don’t write on the tag.’
Adam Herriott, Senior Specialist at environmental NGO WRAP, also gave his tips: ‘The good news is that a few simple habits can make sure your day runs smoothly. Simple steps such as flattening boxes, reusing gift packaging, and checking any changes to local collections all help keep valuable materials in circulation.’
The Christmas Waste Guide
The festive period, while a highlight in many people’s years, can also bring a feeling of overwhelm and larger than usual quantities of rubbish. As a result over half of us admit to recycling less at this time of year. For simple tips to help stay on top of recycling Christmas waste, see Sortera’s Christmas Waste Guide.
