We asked family of four to keep their rubbish from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – and they were astonished at the results

ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners say we will chuck out 30 per cent more rubbish this Christmas than usual.

While much can be recycled, a lot will end up in landfill — or maybe polluting the seas.

We asked the Kay family, from Poole, Dorset, to keep their rubbish from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They were astonished at how much they accumulated.

It included 31 plastic bags, 49 cellophane wrappers, 3ft of bubble wrap, 35 strands of gift ribbon and 19 gift tags.

Every year, eight million tons of plastic finds its way from our bins into the oceans, with devastating consequences for wildlife. A million sea birds and 100,000 mammals are killed by plastic pollution each year.

Katherine, 36, a writer and mum to Josh, five, and Toby, two, says: “Collecting all the rubbish made it really hit home how much waste we produced in two days.

“Normally we would throw things in the appropriate bin as we go along and you don’t really notice.

Looking at this enormous heap was horrifying. We are pretty good as a family at recycling but it’s shocking to see how much can’t be recycled.”

Recycle Now says 295,000 tons of card is used in the UK over the festive season — enough to wrap Big Ben more than 250,000 times.

And the Wildlife & Countryside Link, a coalition that includes the environmental charity Friends Of The Earth and the National Trust, reckons 114,000 tons of plastic packaging that could be recycled will be binned this Christmas.

Katherine was shocked to learn that much of the glittery wrapping paper and gift tags her ­family used could NOT be recycled.

Neither could the nine crackers pulled at their family gathering and the foil-embossed hats inside. Shiny gift ribbon must go in the bin too, with the 23 plastic twist-ties on her two boys’ new toys.

Katherine says: “It has really made me think. We cook most of our Christmas dinner from scratch and I tend to buy my fruit and veg loose from a greengrocer.

“Next year I will be aware of what I’m using to wrap my presents, having seen how much can’t be recycled. As for the children’s toys, I can’t tell Josh he can’t have a plastic Spider-Man toy if that’s what he really wants.

“And I can’t help what it’s packaged in.

“We didn’t go crazy buying presents but it all adds up. That is where manufacturers and retailers have to do their part.”

The packet for their Christmas-dinner Yorkshire puddings was not suitable for recycling in Katherine’s area under the Borough of Poole council.

Neither was the packaging for three bake-at-home baguettes. That was true for all crisp packets and chocolate wrappers too.

While Katherine did recycle waste including booze bottles and cans, cardboard boxes and plastic food trays, items such as the lid from her pot of cream had to be trashed. A bulging bag of Toby’s nappies will go into landfill too.

Being green isn’t always easy. Packaging often includes different components, some of which might be suitable for recycling while others are not.

For example, the plastic sticky tape often found on the necks of loaves of bread and bagged fruit cannot be recycled.

While it might not seem much, we plough through 11million loaves every day — or 125,000 miles of tape a year.

Katherine, who is married to digital marketer Ben, 37, said: “When you start to really look at the instructions on packaging, you realise how complicated it can be to recycle sometimes. I think a lot of people won’t bother breaking items down into their parts and will just throw it all in the bin because that is easier.

“Supermarkets and manufacturers need to lead the way, like the way they have with the carrier bag problem.

“For example, when you go into the supermarkets before Christmas, there are usually stands with bags of carrots, potatoes and sprouts right at the store front.

“They have made it convenient for people to pick up the bags of vegetables. But if you go slightly further into the store, you can buy loose veg (free of packaging).

“All those plastic twist ties on toys are so unnecessary — and so annoying. They don’t need to be stuck to the box like that.”

Can you? Or can’t you?

SOME household items have baffling instructions for recycling . . . while others have no information at all.

Local authorities differ on what they can recycle, too. Here, Kate Jackson sifts through some popular items to see what she can recycle in Bradford.

For more info on what you can and can’t recycle go to