Wait 'til you see the amount of waste Irish families create over Crimbo!
Picture the sitting room on Crimbo morning. There are toys all over the floor, packaging, cardboard, plastic, torn lumps of wrapping paper. And much as we mums are caught up in the joy of watching the kids open their gifts, a part of us can’t help the niggling worry of what we’re going to do with all the rubbish and where on earth we’re going to put the new toys.
Well according to a survey carried out by recycling specialists Repak we’re not alone. Nearly three quarters (shock! horror!) of Irish parents have thrown out their kids’ toys ahead of Christmas without telling them, while 6 in 10 have threatened kids who leave toys scattered around with coal!
The survey also revealed that 90% of Irish people feel that kids receive ‘too many toys at Christmas' and 1 in 3 blame ‘Granny’ the most for spoiling kids.
Repak carried out the survey to raise awareness about properly recycling Christmas waste. With one 1 in 3 surveyed incorrectly putting plastic, rubber and soft toys in the recycling bin, they want Irish families to think twice about how they dispose of rubbish and the things they don’t want anymore.
And the amount of rubbish we accumulate over Christmas is crazy. Over the period we will generate:
Enough plastic to create over 51 million Barbie dolls
Enough glass to create 1.7 billion Christmas baubles
Enough cardboard and paper to make 262 million Christmas crackers
Enough aluminium to create enough tinsel to stretch around the world 132 times
Steel which will weigh 32 times the weight of the Dublin Spire
34% of Irish adults admitted to putting recyclable materials in their regular bin at Christmas if it was full or vice versa; 15% admit to being the neighbourhood nuisances who dump their empty Christmas booze bottles beside the bank, even if it was full; 40% admitted to chucking treat wrappers into the fire and 1 in 4 admitted that they don’t ‘wash ‘n’ squash’ by rinsing out recyclables before they put them in the bin.
However, the news isn’t all bad. According to Repak’s survey, 95% of us generally separate out our rubbish at Christmas and 6 in 10 would never put rubbish in the fire.
Christmas Recycling Tips
Here are Repak’s top tips to help you do the right thing by your recycling bin this Christmas:
1. Avoid shiny wrapping
Did you know that some wrapping paper can’t be recycled? Glossy or laminated gift wrap can’t be recycled so opt for natural-fibre paper or gift bags that can be used several times.
2. Recycling Bin Friendly Items
Selection boxes, Christmas crackers, cardboard packaging, most wrapping papers, paper bags are all destined for your recycling bin! Many of us will find we’re left with lots of cardboard boxes from appliances, toys and online shopping orders. Make sure you break up the cardboard boxes and put them into the recycling bin.
3. Glass Recycling
Don’t let all your glass bottles build up over the holidays. Many bottles banks can get full so try and recycle as many of your bottles before the holidays and then in late January when the bottle banks have been emptied.