Counting Christmas

 

From the food eaten on Christmas day to the style and colour of decorations, many aspects make the festive period unlike any other. Everyone wants to make Christmas the perfect holiday, and this excitement often results in us going overboard, but what do our Christmas spending habits look like as a nation?

Taking statistics from the UK’s average Christmas usage, we can reveal how much we use (and waste) every year. We have paired our findings with a range of tips to help make your Christmas sustainable without missing out on what makes this time of the year so special.

 

Brits drink enough beer over the festive season to fill 57 Olympic-sized swimming pools

Whether it's a warm glass of mulled wine or a brandy-enriched eggnog, Christmas is synonymous with a cheeky tipple. Recent data estimates that Brits drink around 250 million pints of beer during Christmas, which is enough to fill 57 Olympic-sized swimming pools or more than 2.8 million beer kegs!

With such an astronomical consumption rate, it is essential to be mindful of waste. When buying festive drinks, the best thing you can do is consider buying products with recyclable packaging.

 

The Shard can be encased more than 4,500 times from all the wrapping paper used in the UK at Christmas

Many occasions throughout the year call for wrapping paper, from birthdays to weddings and baby showers, but demand soars the most during the season of giving. 

Standing at around 310m high, the Shard is among the tallest buildings in Europe, but its size is no match for our wrapping paper usage. The 227,000 miles of gift wrap that the UK uses every Christmas would be able to cover the Shard a whopping 4,567 times.

Unfortunately, some materials like glitter and foil can render wrapping paper non-recyclable, but certain types of paper can be salvaged! If you’re unsure, we recommend trying out the ‘scrunch test’ - if your wrapping paper retains its shape after being scrunched into a ball, then it is likely to be widely recyclable. If you are aware that your wrapping paper isn’t recyclable, a great way to save it from becoming waste is to reuse it for another occasion—nobody will notice!

 

The UK would need 77 football pitches worth of forest space to replant all the trees wasted every year from our Christmas cards

Spreading Christmas cheer through cards has been a tradition for as long as we can remember and remains popular today. On average, UK residents hand out 24 Christmas cards yearly, but this production is taking its toll on the environment. Based on the idea that one tree can produce 3,000 Christmas cards, the UK would require a space of 77 football fields to replant the amount they use every year.

If you’re looking to be more sustainable this year, there are many eco-friendly Christmas cards on the market, and e-cards have been developed as a great alternative to paper cards. Both allow you to wish your loved ones a merry Christmas without worrying about contributing to deforestation!

 

The UK’s Sellotape consumption during Christmas could wrap around the world 66 times

If you were to measure the Earth’s circumference, it would total almost 30,000 miles, but that is nothing compared to the 1.6 million miles of Sellotape used by the UK population during Christmas. To put this into perspective, the UK's annual Sellotape usage during the festive season could wrap around the world 66 times.

If you are looking for a less wasteful alternative, string and twine are trendy and attractive options. A wide range of recyclable gift bags are also on the market to help you conceal your loved one's presents.

 

You would need more than 28,000 Christmas present sacks to hold all of the Brussels sprouts thrown away in the UK at Christmas

Brussels sprouts aren’t for everyone, but whether you love or hate them, millions are purchased by Brits over the Christmas period. Unfortunately, this also means that more than 17 million sprouts are thrown away every year, which equates to more than 28,000 large Christmas present sacks worth of the green vegetable — even Father Christmas would struggle to fit all of those on his sleigh!

The easiest way to reduce waste when it comes to Brussels sprouts is to plan accordingly: find out which of your guests like them, and only buy the amount you need for your numbers.

 

It would take six industrial shipping containers to hold the amount of aluminium packaging wasted in the UK from mince pies at Christmas

If you are from the UK, then there is every chance that you have come across the humble mince pie. Sold on our shelves for months leading up to Christmas, it can be hard to resist the purchase of this sweet treat, and it appears that many people agree, as around 175 million are sold every year. When converted into tonnes, it would take six shipping containers to accommodate the 175 million mince pies worth of aluminium packaging.

Luckily, aluminium is one of the most recycled materials worldwide, so as long as you dispose of your foil trays in an eco-friendly manner, this packaging can be reused to encase more mince pies in the future.

 

The 12 eco-friendly tips of Christmas

Just a few examples of our usage over the Christmas period have demonstrated that there is a lot we can do as a nation to be more eco-friendly. By adopting a few small and easy changes, we can ensure that the cheery season is sustainable yet still magical. 

1. Think quality over quantity

Whether it's their favourite sweet treat or a personalised piece of jewellery, thoughtful gifts are always a great option. Also, if you consider what your recipient will use, gifts are less likely to go to waste.  Experience days, such as tickets to a show or a spa day, are excellent examples of ​​personalised presents that create clutter-free memories.

2. Channel your inner DIY skills when it comes to presents

Nothing is more special than receiving a homemade gift (even if it's not shop-grade quality). A DIY Christmas present may take more time to put together, but it is well worth the effort! Along with saving on delivery fees, a homemade gift will reduce your carbon footprint, making it a better option for your bank balance and the environment.

3. Could I get this second-hand?

Second-hand Christmas gifts are often just as good as the original, but they also have the bonus of stretching your budget and using recycled materials. Purchasing used goods can also allow you to get your creative juices flowing through upcycling, making your gift unique and giving a new lease of life to old items.

4. Consider e-gifts

We are all guilty of online shopping in one form or another, and e-gift cards have become increasingly popular over recent years. Gifted via email, this form of Christmas present eliminates the physical waste of traditional gift cards, including plastic and wrapping paper. It also gives recipients more freedom when it comes to spending. 

5. Opt for recyclable wrapping paper

As suggested by the name, most of us assume that all wrapping paper is recyclable, but unfortunately, this is far from the truth. If you are unsure whether or not you can recycle your wrapping paper, scrunch it up, and if it stays in a ball, then it is more than likely recyclable. 

When buying wrapping paper, remember that any with glitter or plastic lamination (as pretty as it looks) is not eco-friendly. That said, your gifts don’t need to compromise on style to be eco-friendly and recyclable. Some more sustainable embellishment options include using real flowers or twine instead of ribbons.

6. Be mindful when it comes to Christmas cards

Christmas cards have been a tradition during the festive period for centuries, but like wrapping paper, we are often misled by their sustainability. If you are a big believer in sending out cards to your loved ones over Christmas, consider those without glitter, plastic, batteries, or ribbon so that they can be recycled. Alternatively, e-cards are a different yet eco-friendly way to spread love and cheer during Christmas.

7. Make your Christmas tree sustainable

We understand how essential Christmas trees are for families across the country. Luckily, both artificial and real trees can be sustainable, depending on how they are cared for. 

Artificial Christmas trees are popular because they can last years without the added clean-up. Their longevity makes them a great eco-friendly option if you keep hold of it year after year. 

8. Use energy-efficient decorations

Arguably, one of the most important decorations on a Christmas tree are the lights, and there are some fantastic energy-efficient options on the market. LED lights use much less energy than traditional styles and emit much less heat, which makes them safer and more sustainable than alternative lighting.  

9. Reinvent old ornaments

We have already touched on the benefits of upscaling, and ornaments are no exception. Getting creative with decorations, even just with a new lick of paint, can help reinvent your Christmas ornaments and give them a new lease of life while not wasting any materials. In addition, so many simple eco-friendly crafts are out there that can elevate your home's Christmas style. 

10. Opt for locally sourced food where possible

Christmas dinner can vary from house to house, but one thing that everyone can agree on is how important food is during the festive season. Food in big supermarkets is notorious for excessive plastic and packaging, so many of us may opt for local grocers instead. 

Buying your Christmas dinner ingredients from a local grocer means that you can contribute to local businesses while minimising the amount of single-use plastic and carbon emissions, which is a win-win for the environment.

11. Minimise food waste

Food is a huge part of the festive season, and there are plenty of incredible Christmas foods that have the environment at the forefront of their mind. Unlike mince pie packaging, the attractive containers that hold Panettone can usually be reused year after year - a much greener alternative. 

As previously revealed, we are guilty of throwing away masses of food over the festive season. From freezing any leftover ingredients to planning ahead and making a shopping list, there are many ways that you and your family can reduce food waste. 

The tips don’t stop there; if you have lots of leftovers, you can always compost your food, which will provide nutrients to the soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Alternatively, if you don’t want to throw away any of your Christmas dinner, then whipping up some bubble and squeak is a delicious way to consume leftovers. 

12. Consider sustainable travel

Like Father Christmas, many of us will travel miles every year to deliver presents during the season of giving. While this may be unavoidable, there are still ways you can reduce your carbon footprint. Travelling by eco-friendly modes of transportation like trains or buses and carpooling can help reduce car emissions on the road.

Methodology

We used GWP Group to source the UK-related Christmas statistics as of 2023.

How many Olympic-sized swimming pools would the UK's beer consumption at Christmas fill:

  • To convert the total number of pints of beer drunk by the UK at Christmas into cubic metres, we multiplied the number of pints by 0.0005682613 (the number of cubic metres in one pint). 
  • We then divided the number of cubic metres of beer drunk at Christmas by the number of cubic metres in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

How many beer kegs would the UK's beer consumption at Christmas fill?

  • We divided the number of pints consumed at Christmas by the number of pints in a standard UK keg.

How many times could you wrap the Shard with all the wrapping paper used in the UK at Christmas?

  • Using an average 70cm x 5m roll, we multiplied the width by the length to calculate the number of square metres in a standard roll of wrapping paper.
  • We multiplied the number of miles of wrapping paper used in the UK during Christmas by 1,609 (the number of metres in one mile) to convert the wrapping paper usage from miles to metres. 
  • We divided the number of metres of wrapping paper used by the length of one roll to calculate the amount used in the UK every Christmas.
  • We divided the number of square metres of glass on the Shard by the number of square metres per roll to calculate how many it would take to wrap the Shard once.
  • Finally, we divided the number of rolls used in the UK by the number of rolls it takes to wrap the Shard.

How many football pitches of forest space would it take to replant the trees wasted every year from Christmas cards?

How many times would UK Christmas Sellotape usage wrap around the world?

  • We multiplied the number of rolls used at Christmas by the length of one standard 66m roll of Sellotape to find the total length of Sellotape used at Christmas. 
  • We multiplied the total length of Sellotape used at Christmas by 1,609 (the number of metres in a mile) to convert the Sellotape usage from metres to miles.
  • We divided the mileage of Sellotape used at Christmas by 24,901 (the circumference of the Earth).

How many Christmas present sacks would it take to hold all of the Brussels sprouts thrown away in the UK at Christmas?

  • We took the dimensions of a large Christmas present sack (when filled) and applied the following calculation to find the capacity of one sack: volume = pi x (half of width)² x height.
  • On the presumption that a Brussels sprout has an average diameter of 1 inch, we used Pi Day to find the volume of a 1-inch sphere. By dividing the capacity of one large present sack by this number, we were able to calculate the average number of Brussels sprouts in one sack. 
  • We divided the number of Brussels sprouts thrown away by the average number of sprouts in one sack.

How many shipping containers would it take to hold the amount of wasted aluminium packaging from mince pies in the UK at Christmas?

We divided the amount of aluminium packaging used in the UK from mince pies at Christmas by the maximum weight that one standard shipping container can hold.