Christmas recycling

Pre lockdown days Brits alone would consume 205 million glasses of champers / sparkling wine, 35 million bottles of wine and 250 million pints of lager and beer over the festive period in the UK alone. Let alone the corks, packaging covering our food, presents and just in general throughout Christmas.

It can get a bit overwhelming and so easy to dump it all in one big black back destined for landfill or to be incinerated.

But if we just set ourselves up a little before the season, we can make navigating the recycling fun and games a breeze!

Don’t forget to check your local authority for info on what you can recycle - England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand

Do you know what common Christmas items you can 100% recycle curbside?

If I asked you about the following, would you know what to do?

• Food waste

• Crackers

• Wrapping paper

• Plastic food trays

• Foil

• Cardboard

• Cling film / cellophane

• Electronics

• Plastic toys

• Cards

• Batteries

• Bubblewrap

If you are unsure, check out my top recycling tips HERE as a good starting point.

Welcome to my 12 Days of Christmas, #ecoedition continuing with Day 10! Check out the quiz question at the bottom of the page and stay tuned for the answer tomorrow!

QUIZ ANSWER FROM DAY 10: What is technically illegal to eat on Christmas Day? Mince Pies!

Did you know:

Some more interesting facts about waste generated over the festive time:

• In the US, 25% more rubbish is thrown away between Thanksgiving to New Year's than any other time of year. This is the equivelant of 25 million tons of rubbish

• If every family in the US reused two feet of ribbon, 38,000 miles of ribbon would be saved - that could wrap around the entire planet.

• If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields

• The amount of beer drunk could fill 57 Olympic size pools

• Approx 13,500 tonnes of glass is thrown out

• There is enough card packaging created to cover the Giant’s Causeway 1,800 times

fun and Eco friendly alternatives

Why not try one or more of the below ideas:

• Top tip: Check Recycle Now in the UK for what you can and can’t recycle this Christmas

• Top tip: Please wash anything before throwing it in a recycling bin. Left over food residue will contaminate the item

• Top tip: If in doubt, throw it out

• In the UK, put lids back on bottles and jars before recycling

• Size totally matters - if an item is smaller than a credit card, it will likely fall out during the recycling and sorting process so the bigger the better

• Don’t take for granted your local authority accepts all items. Use this time to quickly double check exactly what your council can recycle and where

• Check out my Christmas Cards, Christmas Crackers and Christmas Wrapping pages for more tips to recycle these

• Plastic bags cannot be recycled

• Save everything you can salvage - ribbons, boxes, paper, card for gift tags next year. Store it with your Christmas stuff to use the following year

• Use newspaper or scrap paper to wrap your presents instead of buying wrapping paper

• Flatten cardboard boxes to reduce space but don't leave it outside where it can get mouldy - otherwise it is no longer recyclable

• Collect foil (make sure it is clean) into a ball size shape and pop it in recyling

• Aluminium cans are 100% recyclable, so slam dunk that beer can in the recycling bin

• Save those batteries - check your local authority for where you can drop them off. They must not be thrown into the bin as they can leach toxins

• Cellophane, bubblewrap, plastic bags, electronics and batteries are not commonly recycled from curbside recycling schemes

FUN QUIZ QUESTION - find out the answer tomorrow!

True or false. If cardboard gets wet it is no longer recyclable?

Good luck and get recycling!

Please note, I am not affiliated with any company mentioned in this post.