Festive footprint
19 Dec 2019
More than 11,000 scientists have warned of a “catastrophic hothouse Earth” that could result from climate change. On that cheery note, we look at the environmental trail and greenhouse gas emissions left by our yearly festive blowout…
- 90,149 miles travelled by the ingredients in a typical Christmas dinner – more than three and a half times the circumference of the world
- 20kg of CO2 emissions per UK Christmas dinner
- 16kg carbon footprint of a 2-metre Christmas tree if it ends up in landfill
- 227,000 miles of wrapping paper thrown away each year – 95% the distance to the moon
- 250 tonnes of Christmas tree remains thrown away that could have been used as compost
- 114,000 tonnes of plastic packaging not recycled in the UK at Christmas
