Britons seek greener Christmas and a planet-friendly new year

Britain is embarking on its greenest Christmas, according to an astonishing series of studies.

Four separate surveys show that most people are promising to make their celebrations more environmentally friendly to reduce the impact of what are traditionally the most polluting three days of the year – and to make green resolutions for the new year.

Three-quarters say that they are actively trying to reduce the amount of waste they generate over the holiday, four in five mean to dispose of their Christmas tree in an environmentally responsible way, and nine out of 10 intend to recycle their Christmas cards and wrapping paper. More than 80 per cent say they have decided to live greener lives in 2008.

The festive season has a vast impact. Research at York University estimates that the days from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day can generate a carbon footprint as great as almost three weeks of normal life.

The study, by researchers from the Stockholm Environment Institute based at the university, concludes: "Our total consumption and spending on food, travel, lighting and gifts over the three days of festivities could result in as much as 650kg of emissions of carbon dioxide per person – equivalent to the weight of 1,000 Christmas puddings"

It adds that this amounts to "5.5 per cent of the UK's average carbon footprint of 11.87 tons per person a year" – equivalent to 20 days of normal consumption.

Britons send some 750 million Christmas cards a year, spend an average of £435 each on Christmas presents and encase them in enough brightly coloured paper to gift wrap the entire island of Guernsey. Eight million real trees are temporarily installed in people's homes and 10 million turkeys are consumed, along with 20 million parsnips, 30 million carrots, 105 million potatoes, 175 million mince pies and 240 million Brussels sprouts.

All this produces an extra 750,000 tons of waste – or an average of five extra sackfuls a household – which, the Government calculates, is the equivalent of emitting an extra 1.4 million tons of carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming.
By Geoffrey Lean

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