Warning to shoppers buying wrapping paper this Christmas

It’s almost that time of year when gift-givers up and down the country will be wrestling with the sellotape, but people stocking up on wrapping paper have been issued a warning.

It’s part and parcel of every Christmas to spend a day lovingly wrapping a mountain of presents, but there is one thing to bear in mind before December.

According to Business Waste, the UK spends just over £20 billion on Christmas presents every year, most of which is attractively packaged up in an array of festive sparkly paper.

It’s estimated that the average household uses four rolls of wrapping paper to wrap their presents only for it to be thrown away hours after the recipient tears into it on Christmas day.

Around 227,000 miles of Christmas wrapping paper is thrown away every year, which is equivalent to 108 million rolls every year in the UK.

To help cut down on general waste being sent to landfill, shoppers are urged to use Christmas wrapping paper that is made from 100% paper as this can be fully recycled.

You can also reuse your wrapping paper from last year to help reduce the amount of waste.

Another tip is to buy items with less packaging, or use alternative items to wrap your presents such as furoshiki, reusable gift bags, vintage tins, tea towels and scarves.