Ultimate guide to recycling your entire Xmas
Really want to be From Santa’s little helper? pie tins and those pesky little mince with plastic advent calendars lined we present the . to broken fairy lights,
OVer the holiday season, families across the uk get through hundreds of thousands of tons of wrapping paper, tin foil, cardboard and plastic, at least six million trees and one billion greetings cards — plus truckloads of discarded turkey, mince pies and nuts.
Much of this festive waste could be recycled, but, in fact, recycling rates plummet over the Christmas and New Year holiday because householders are too busy — and too overwhelmed — to cope.
Guidelines from local councils can often seem confusing and any extra effort can feel like too much at this time of year. But doing your bit for the environment doesn’t have to be a headache. DAVID DERBYSHIRE reveals the worst recycling culprits — and gets the experts’ tips on how to handle the big tidy up with ease . . .
WRAPPING PAPER WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
IF eVerY sheet of wrapping paper used this Christmas were laid end to end, they would stretch 227,000 miles — enough to circle the world nine times or reach from earth almost to the moon. and while thrifty past generations re- used the same wrapping paper year after year, today, millions of tons of the stuff end up in landfill or incinerators.
Sadly, recycling wrapping paper isn’t straightforward. Some councils refuse to take any, some collect it, while others insist you take it to a recycling centre.
and all councils reject shiny wrap coated with ‘metallised plastic film’. While it is technically possible to recycle this type of wrap, the combination of materials — a thin layer of plastic bonded to a thin layer of metal — means it’s just not worth the cost.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
FIrST, check your local council’s guidelines on its website. Next, here’s a clever tip to work out which wrapping paper can’t be recycled.
Fran Morrissy of waste and recycling company Biffa explains: ‘Glossy or laminated gift wrap can’t be recycled. If in doubt, try the wrapping paper scrunch test.
‘Scrunch the paper up in your hand. If it stays scrunched it can be recycled. If it springs back it probably has metallised plastic film in it which can’t be recycled.’
Then there’s the plastic sticky tape we fasten our parcels with, which can’t be recycled.
Most recycling machinery can cope with small amounts of sticky tape — often, paper and card are soaked to turn them into slurry during the recycling process.
The tape floats to the top of this mixture and can be removed by machines. However, large bits of tape may be rejected by the machinery because it could cause clogs in the system.
ADVENT CALENDARS WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
You should be able to recycle all the separate parts of a traditional or chocolate advent calendar — as long as they are not coated with glitter, which is usually made from plastic. Tiny pieces of glitter can clog up recycling machinery.
But while all councils recycle cardboard, only 75 per cent will accept the flimsy plastic trays used to hold chocolates behind their windows, which are made from low-grade plastic that may not be financially worth recycling.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Break up your advent calendar and put cardboard parts in the recycling bin.
If your council doesn’t accept plastic trays, they will have to go out with general waste, or to a specialist recycling centre. To find one, type your postcode into the recycling Locator on recyclenow.com, a government-funded campaign.
MINCE PIE CASES WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
aLuMINIuM foil is notoriously expensive and energy-intensive to produce, because extracting it from its raw materials is very difficult and involves heating to high temperatures. Yet the metal can be recycled again and again cheaply, so it’s really important not to bin any foil waste — over the Christmas period, the uk gets through 4,500 tons of the stuff. according to the recycle Now campaign, recycling just six clean foil cases from mince pies will save enough energy to run a TV for 30 minutes. That’s long enough to watch Coronation Street on New Year’s Day.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
NINe out of ten councils collect the foil from mince pie cases and take-away meal containers — as long as they’ve been washed. Some are fussy about turkey roasting trays, however, as these tend to be covered with hard-toshift grease that can jam up recycling machines.
If your council doesn’t take foil, try local recycling schemes — you can find details online.
GREETINGS CARDS WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Around one billion Christmas cards were sent this year, which works out at 37 per household. It’s easy to recycle those made from plain card. However, recycling machines can’t cope with glitter or foil decorations, which can clog their workings.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
CrAIg Stephens, of recycle now, says: ‘Paper-based cards can be recycled, however any embellishments such as ribbons or glitter should be removed or torn off.’
If you’re feeling crafty, you can always keep this year’s cards, rip off the written side and turn the pictures into gift tags for next year’s presents.
CRACKERS WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
You might think these are all easily recyclable cardboard — and that’s true of the inner tube, the party hat and the strip of cardboard that makes the bang.
But the plastic toys in most crackers are actually rejected by many councils because the plastic quality is too poor to recycle into anything useful, while the outer wrapper has to go in the general waste if it is covered with foil or laminated paper.
At least you can count on the jokes being recycled!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If Your cracker contains foil or laminated paper, separate out and recycle any plain cardboard. And next year, consider opting for crackers with chocolates or other surprises inside, rather than plastic toys!
CHRISTMAS TREES WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
EACH december we buy six million real trees, but natural doesn’t always mean green.
research has shown that reusing the same fake plastic and metal tree for 15 years or more could be better for the environment than buying real ones — particularly if those have been transported halfway across the country from the grower to your door, burning up precious fossil fuels.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
AftEr twelfth night, most councils arrange collections or drop-off points for real trees, which are shredded and used in parks and woodlands as mulch.
fran Morrissy from Biffa says: ‘If your council doesn’t offer a collection service, a number of charities operate tree recycling schemes.’ try searching online for one of these near you.
If your fake tree has reached the end of its life, don’t chuck it out. take it to a recycling centre so that its metal poles and base can be recovered.
PLASTIC AND GLASS BOTTLES WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
EvErY day Britons use a staggering 36 million plastic bottles. Yet although 99 per cent of councils will happily take these, 16 million are not recycled.
We also get through an extra 750 million glass bottles and jars over Christmas, and throw out around 13,500 tonnes after the festive season. Luckily these can all be recycled — although councils don’t accept all types of glass, so keep broken light bulbs, kitchenware and drinking glasses out of your recycling bins.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If You don’t recycle bottles regularly, start now. It couldn’t be easier. they need a quick rinse, but you can leave on the labels.
Check your council’s website on whether or not to screw plastic caps back on the bottles to ensure they’re recycled, too.
As for wine corks, natural corks are made from tree bark so you can chop them up and put them in with your compost, or throw them on the fire. But many corks these days are synthetic, and while supermarkets in france collect these, sadly the practice hasn’t caught on widely in the uK.
Some wine shops, including Laithwaites, have collection bins, as do restaurants, bars and hotels which are in the recorked uK recycling scheme. visit recorkeduk.
org for details.
FAIRY LIGHTS WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
ModErn LEd lights are supposed to be long-lasting — but the reality is that twisted wires and the strain of being strung around the tree mean they typically last only a few years.
the good news, though, is that you can usually recycle them, with a little extra effort.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
ALL electrical goods count as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and should never be put in your regular rubbish bin.
Craig Stephens, of recycle now, says: ‘fairy lights are recyclable at household waste recycling centres along with small electricals.
Some councils will now also collect them from your home, but check first by popping your postcode into our recycling Locator on recyclenow.com.’
FOOD WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Around 230,000 tons of food — worth £275 million — is thrown away at Christmas, including 74 million mince pies and the equivalent of two million turkeys.
Panic buying leads to over-catering, as does unfamiliarity with feeding large numbers when the extended family come round.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
vEgEtABLE peelings, satsuma skins, teabags and coffee grounds can be composted in the garden instead of thrown away.
Julian Kirby of friends of the Earth says: ‘Many councils, although not enough, run food waste collections. they are proven to reduce the amount you waste — and save on shopping bills in the first place, because sweeping food waste into the caddy gives us feedback on whether we are buying more food than we need.’
If your council doesn’t collect food waste, your options are limited.
You can buy special composting bins called green cones that are half buried in the soil and which will break down all food scraps — including meat, cooked food and dairy.
Your freezer is your friend to reduce waste over Christmas — freeze whatever you can’t use within a few days.
the Love food Hate Waste website, lovefoodhatewaste.com, has loads of delicious recipes for your Christmas leftovers.
PARCEL PACKAGING WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
WItH companies such as Amazon packing even the tiniest items in huge boxes with layers of paper wrapping, the amount of cardboard and plastic filling up our homes and bins has ballooned. And, of course, it’s worse at Christmas.
Around 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging is binned after Christmas, rather than recycled. Much of this ends up in landfill, while some of it ends up in the oceans, where it causes devastation for wildlife.
According to Wrap, the uK recycling agency, Britain gets through 300,000 tons of cardboard at Christmas — which is enough to wrap Big Ben 260,000 times.
But the good news is that plenty of places will recycle it.
Steve Eminton, editor of news website Letsrecycle, says: ‘Cardboard is worth around £100 a tonne, so everyone is trying to get their hands on it. It is well worth recycling every last scrap.’
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
CArdBoArd boxes should be flattened or ripped up (children are usually happy volunteers for this chore) and put out with your general paper waste.
Councils usually collect only dry cardboard, so it needs to be kept out of the rain. Bubble wrap and polystyrene, including packing peanuts, aren’t widely recycled in the uK and usually have to go in the general waste bin.
DECORATIONS WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
PLAStIC baubles and Christmas decorations are usually made from types of plastic that are not widely recycled in the uK, according to recycle now.
Spokesperson Craig Stephens warns: ‘glass baubles are not recyclable either. this is because the type and colour of glass used for baubles is different to that used to make glass bottles and jars, so if bauble glass enters that recycling stream it will cause contamination.
‘Broken glass baubles should be disposed of by wrapping them and putting in with general waste.’
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
SIMPLE: re-use your baubles year after year! Avoid splashing out on new ones that you’ll use only once, and consider opting for rustic wooden ornaments if you are buying something new.
UNWANTED GIFTS WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
It’S estimated that we each get unwanted gifts worth £35 every Christmas — which coincidentally is also roughly the amount that each person spends on last-minute panic buying. Sadly, many of these gifts will end up in landfill.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
tHE greenest way to dispose of them is to ‘re-gift’ — that is, put them away in a drawer and then give them to unsuspecting aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews next year. A handy tip is to attach a note to the present to say who it came from to avoid any embarrassment from ‘ re- gifting’ hankies, placemats or candles back to the very person who gave them to you.
Alternatively, make a trip to the charity shop, or make a donation to freegle, a website where users can swap their unwanted items at no charge.