As the festive season draws near, a fresh study underscores the substantial amount of Christmas lights and decorations being thrown away across the UK.
Research carried out on 2,000 participants disclosed that the average person splashes out £429 on decorative lights, baubles, and other yuletide items over their lifetime. This translates to roughly £23bn across the current UK populace.
A significant chunk of this expenditure arises from waste, with nearly one in three respondents confessing to ditching broken Christmas lights rather than mending or replacing individual parts, such as defective bulbs.
Over one generation, this waste equates to 323 million boxes or 1.3 million miles of lights.
The festive period is a high point for waste, with millions of decorations, gift wrap, and packaging tossed each year. Environmental groups advocate prioritising reusable or repairable items to lessen the environmental impact of holiday festivities.
To tackle this problem, Warinks Advocaat, more renowned for its egg-based liqueur, has initiated a Christmas lights recycling scheme.
Houses in selected UK cities can schedule a free service via the company’s website, where a technician will gather broken lights for recycling and deliver a replacement set to their doorstep.
The recycling initiative will kick off in Hackney and other London areas on 9 December, before heading to Manchester and Salford on 10 December, and concluding its journey in Edinburgh on 11 December.
With limited availability, the service is open for bookings exclusively for individuals aged 18 and above. For further details on the recycling service, one can head over to the Warninks Advocaat website.
Rebecca Cresswell of the company commented: “If your Christmas tree lights have fizzled out, don’t worry and definitely don’t bin them. Hand them over to our cheerful Warninks light technician and let us help light up the season responsibly.”
