At Yorwaste, we’re as committed to reducing waste as we are recycling it. Every Christmas, an extra three million tonnes of waste is produced in the UK. Unwanted gifts, tired decorations, excess food, and endless packaging are all discarded year-on-year, damaging both budgets and the planet.
In recent years, growing public awareness around the hazards of overconsumption has led many businesses to change their act and adopt a low-waste festive period.
This blog shares expert tips to help you reduce your business’s Christmas waste. Whether you’re running a busy restaurant or selling gifts to go under the tree, we can help.
How to reduce waste at Christmas:
- Festive Food Waste
- How to reduce Food Waste at Christmas
- Hospitality Food Waste in North Yorkshire
- Retail Christmas Waste Management
- Corporate Waste at Christmas
- Christmas Decorations
- Christmas Gifts
- Wrapping Paper
- Yorwaste Can Help Your Business in North Yorkshire This Christmas
Festive Food Waste
Of the 175 million mince pies purchased every Christmas in the UK, 74 million are thrown away. Unfortunately, that is the tip of the iceberg, as two million turkeys, 9 million carrots, 7.1 million pigs in blankets, and almost 10 million cups of gravy are wasted every year.
It’s no wonder so much food is wasted every Christmas, as 7 out of 10 people admit they buy more food than they need every festive period.
Some food waste is unavoidable. Eggshells, coffee grounds, and vegetable peelings are just a few waste byproducts of food preparation. Through effective meal planning and purchasing only what you need, most households can drastically cut their food waste. However, effective management of unavoidable food waste is essential to reduce the environmental impact.
How to reduce Food Waste at Christmas:
- Take a common-sense approach. In previous years, Morrisons scrapped dates on its fresh fruit and veg to encourage customers to use their own judgment and reduce waste this Christmas.
- Buy loose. Purchase what you need rather than ‘cheaper’ huge bags.
- Plan ahead. Think carefully and realistically about every aspect of your household’s food needs, from snacks to the main event.
- Love your leftovers. With good storage, most surplus food can make it into a new meal. Work potential leftovers into your Christmas meal plan. Think sandwiches, smoothies, soups and stocks
- Compost. Peelings and leftover raw veggies and fruit should go into the compost bin
Hospitality Food Waste in North Yorkshire
It’s not just households overspending – the hospitality industry understandably struggles with festive food waste. The sheer volume of people coming through the doors naturally leads to more waste. Over-ordering, excessive portion sizes, and no-shows can see waste outputs double. One study found that over the Christmas period, 10% of restaurant bookings don’t turn up.
North Yorkshire is no exception to the trend. Over Christmas, exceedingly popular events are hosted across the county, including the York Christmas Markets, the Harrogate Fayre, and the Grassington Dickensian Festival, which draw in millions of visitors.
York’s market alone generates around £95 million. However, the huge crowds inevitably lead to a significant amount of food waste, hampering profits.
Hospitality food waste can be significantly lowered with improved forecasting, taking booking deposits where possible, and portion control. Monitoring and tracking Christmas food waste can help identify areas with room for improvement.
Despite the cost-of-living crisis, over a third of British people would be happy to pay more in a restaurant with strong sustainability credentials.
As of March 2025, all businesses and households across the UK must separate recyclable and non-recyclable waste, including:
- Cardboard and paper
- Glass
- Plastic
- Metal
- Food waste
Simpler Recycling has been implemented to help individuals and businesses recycle more and waste less. Reducing waste is essential for meeting climate pledges, as just 1kg of food waste in a landfill releases 2.5kg of CO2.
A professional waste partner is invaluable in helping hospitality businesses adhere to the new legislation and avoid hefty fines. Yorewaste has extensive experience handling restaurant waste, and we work closely with our clients to help them reduce and manage their waste.
Retail Christmas Waste Management
Over the Christmas period, the retail industry is overwhelmed with orders. Some studies suggest that orders over November and December account for 32% of total revenue.
Consequently, the amount of packaging the industry has to deal with balloons. Around 300,000 tonnes of cardboard packaging and 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging are generated in the UK every Christmas.
Proper sorting and management of packaging, even in extraordinary conditions, is crucial to adhere to Simpler Recycling legislation. Professional retail waste management services can support retail businesses over Christmas by:
- Providing extra, flexible waste collection
- Offering team training on different waste streams
- Conducting free waste audits to determine how to reduce waste
Corporate Waste at Christmas
Offices are no exception to the alarming boom in waste created at Christmas – office parties, Secret Santa, and decorations all contribute to a surplus of rubbish. There are, however, some simple changes that can be made to manage and reduce office waste.
Christmas Decorations
Businesses and homes alike adorn their space with Christmas trees, twinkling lights, and endless baubles every year. All too many of us fail to reuse our Christmas decorations the following year and dispose of them instead.
The environmental impacts persist for far longer than the festive period. To produce a 2m artificial tree, 40kg of greenhouse gases are required. Despite this, 14% of people discard their fake tree after the holidays, rather than reuse it the following year.
Artificial trees are only more environmentally friendly than real ones if they’re used for at least ten years. This is because they are eventually destined for landfill, whereas real trees biodegrade. If you’re not planning on storing and using your fake tree again next year, opt for a real tree instead.
Once the festivities are over, local recycling waste centres, such as Yorwaste, provide free services. Deposit your real Christmas tree in the garden waste, and your fake Christmas tree in either the small appliance, scrap metal, or plastic reuse containers, depending on what it’s made from.
Christmas Gifts
Secret Santa is a staple of office culture, but unfortunately, not all presents are well-received. In this country alone, over 21 million people receive unwanted gifts, the vast majority of which end up in landfill.
While we’re by no means advocating for Secret Santa’s demise, we believe it can be done better. There are several free online tools that allow people to fill in a wish list, so they can receive something they’ll enjoy, rather than something they will put in the bin.
Wrapping Paper
Every Christmas, the UK uses around 227,000 miles of wrapping paper. Unfortunately, not all of this is recycled. Paper with glitter and foil or plastic coatings isn’t recyclable, and is destined for landfill.
Encouraging your team to use environmentally-friendly wrapping paper, such as brown paper or reusable fabric, can help your office significantly reduce its waste and environmental impact.
Under the new Simpler Recycling legislation, paper must be separated from general waste. Failing to adhere to the new rules could result in enforcement procedures from the Environment Agency and fines.
Yorwaste Can Help Your Business in North Yorkshire This Christmas
For many people, both professionally and personally, Christmas is the busiest time of the year. Whether you work in retail, hospitality, corporate, or elsewhere, Christmas poses a unique set of challenges that leaves you little time to focus on anything else.
A professional waste service can manage your waste for you. They find ways to reduce your waste at Christmas and beyond, recycle more, and create long-term savings.
Whether you need extra collections, help with compliance, or educational tools for your team, Yorwaste can help you with your waste management this Christmas. Get in touch today to get a free quote and discover what waste management support is available for you.
