Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year – but at what cost to the environment, says Martin Cooper.

As the festive season approaches, we can often forget about the impact of our celebrations on the environment.

Maybe not the Christmas cheer we want to hear this time of year, but the reality is we generate an additional 30 per cent waste during the holiday period, and our celebrations can leave a significant environmental impact that extends far beyond the 12 days of Christmas.

We all love a Christmas tree, and while eight million trees are sold annually across the UK, just 10 per cent are properly recycled. The rest end up in landfills, generating methane and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

 

And artificial trees aren’t much better – a typical two-metre plastic tree has a carbon footprint of around 40kg CO2e – equivalent to driving a car for 100 miles.  If it’s reused for at least 10 years, it’s impact is better, but that doesn’t always happen.

 

Our culture of gift-giving adds to the environmental problem - in the UK we spend an average £700 on Christmas presents, yet approximately £42 worth of gifts per person go unused.

 

And those gifts are then wrapped, using enough wrapping paper each Christmas, to wrap around the equator nine times, most of which can’t be recycled due to glitter, metallic coatings, or mixed materials.

 

And it’s not just stuff.  We throw away around seven million tonnes of food during the Christmas period – that’s more than four million dinners! – not to mention the wasted energy and resources that go into the making and cooking of the food, as well as the money spent.  Each household spends an extra £100 on food – that’s more than £400 million of potential Christmas food wasted.

 

But there’s hope - small changes can make a significant difference and there are some simple tips to help this Christmas:

 

Buy second-hand gifts or experience-based presents

Keep artificial trees for at least 10 years to offset their carbon footprint

Plan meals to minimise food waste

Shop at farmers’ markets for locally sourced produce, cutting transportation emissions and buying just what you need without plastic packaging

Choose recyclable wrapping paper or reusable gift wrap

Support local businesses with sustainable practices

 

The most meaningful gift we can give this Christmas isn’t wrapped in paper or put on a plate – it’s the things we can all do to celebrate more sustainably for the future of our planet.