Zero Waste Christmas Ideas for Businesses
Many businesses create more waste at Christmas than any other time of year. Enjoy a sustainable festive season with these zero waste Christmas ideas.
Wrapping paper waste is incredibly common and produced in high volumes every festive season – as well as when celebrating all those birthdays throughout the year. Due to the many different types of gift wrap used, disposing of and recycling wrapping paper can be a complex area. Can you recycle gift wrap, or should it go in your general waste bin?
To help reduce landfill waste and ensure as much wrapping paper is used in a sustainable way, it’s important you understand how to best dispose of it. Discover everything you need to know about wrapping paper disposal and recycling in this guide.
The first evidence of wrapping paper dates back to the second century BC in China. Back then monetary gifts were wrapped in a kind of envelope called chih pao. Centuries later in the early 20th century Rollie and Joyce Hall – the founders of Hallmark Cards – created inventions to popularise the gift wrapping we see today.
Previously gifts were wrapped in newspaper, brown paper, or fabric. Hallmark started selling coloured tissue paper, which caught on and eventually morphed into the decorative printed wrapping paper we see today.
Various types of wrapping paper are made from a few different materials. The paper base for gift wrap comes from paper produced in wood mills, which is made from wood pulp from softwood trees. Other materials such as plastic and metallic films may be applied to create a decorative effect.
The general process to make wrapping paper is:
Different types of gift wrap can be disposed of in different ways. Matte gift paper with no glitter or glossy covering can be thrown in your recycling bin at home (after removing tags and bows first). Recycling wrapping paper alongside other waste paper, cardboard, and plastics is the best way to dispose of it.
However, you can’t recycle metallic wrapping papers as they typically don’t contain enough paper fibres to be useful in a paper mill. Plastic coated paper or laminated gift wrap cannot be recycled either. Instead, this wrapping paper must be disposed of with your general waste.
Yes, but you can only recycle certain types of wrapping paper. You can recycle paper gift wrap but not any with a glitter, foil, or plastic coating. Use the scrunch test to see if you can recycle the wrapping paper you’re disposing. If when you scrunch the wrapping paper it:
It depends on whether the gift wrap is recyclable or not. If the paper is recycled, then it goes to a recycling centre where any contaminants are removed and then it’s recycled following this process:
If the wrapping paper isn’t recyclable, then it will go to landfill or incineration. In landfill it can take many years to break down, and chemicals from the plastic coating can leach into the ground – adding to pollution. It may be incinerated to produce energy, but this process still emits greenhouse gases.
The main problem with wrapping paper waste is that lots of it can’t be recycled. If the wrapping paper isn’t recyclable and is instead sent to landfill, this uses up landfill space and takes a long time to decompose. In the UK, we send five million tonnes of paper to landfill every year. This takes up animal habitats, contaminates soils, water, and more.
Switching to use recyclable wrapping paper is the best alternative. You can also prevent disposal issues by using traditional newspapers, maps, or brown paper. There are also brands creating fabric and reusable gift wrap. Another alternative is to use baskets to create hampers or recyclable gift bags rather than wrapping up presents.
There are several creative ways to make good use of non-recyclable wrapping paper rather than sending it to landfill or for incineration. Use it for art projects, such as scrapbooking and collages, cover notebooks, or use it to make confetti. If you’re careful when unwrapping presents and it’s still intact, you can even reuse it.
Wrapping paper that’s not sparkly, metallic, or has a plastic coating (that’s you can scrunch up easily) can be recycled in your domestic recycling bin. Or you can take it to a public recycling area – found in many supermarkets and town centres. Non-recyclable paper can be put in your general waste bin at home or taken to the tip.
Any businesses disposing of wrapping paper need to arrange commercial waste collection by licensed waste carriers. This is essential to get rid of your waste in line with relevant regulations. Contact us today to learn more and arrange collection of your wrapping paper waste.
Some facts about wrapping paper are that:
50,000 trees are cut down each year to make enough wrapping paper.
Find out more about other rubbish streams.
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Many businesses create more waste at Christmas than any other time of year. Enjoy a sustainable festive season with these zero waste Christmas ideas.
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