Cheese, mince pies and Christmas lights - new survey reveals how much festive rubbish Blackpool residents threw out this year

The online survey asked 4,500 people about the contents of their Christmas bins – the results are remarkable, with food waste and food packaging creating the most waste this year.

Researchers found that Christmas food lovers (and haters) in Blackpool chucked out this year:

• 296 tonnes of food packaging;

• 106 tonnes of leftover Christmas dinners;

• 51 tonnes of glass drink bottles;

• 16 tonnes of drink cans;

• 10 tonnes of leftover mince pies;

• Four tonnes of cheese.

Altogether, Blackpol residents have thrown away more 634 tonnes of rubbish this week alon, the survey from Blackpool recycling firm TradeWaste.co.uk discovered.

It is not only leftover food waste which is filling Blackpool bins – wrapping paper, cards, decorations and of course Christmas trees are all being thrown out this week – all 25 tonnes of them.

Much of the waste created at Christmas can be recycled with trees being shredded into chippings, cards being munched for paper and some wrapping paper can be recycled too.

However, broken or unwanted Christmas lights should not be put in a general waste bin, instead they need to be taken to a local authority waste site and put in the small electricals skip.

Seasonal goods residents are chucking out in Blackpool this week include:

• 63 tonnes of Christmas cards;

• 37 tonnes of Christmas wrapping paper;

• 26 tonnes of Christmas decorations;

• 25 tonnes of Christmas trees;

• 143 miles of broken Christmas lights.

TradeWaste’s Charlotte Green said: “People in Blackpool seem to have taken to eating well this year, with lockdowns and all the doom and gloom – it seems comfort eating has become a national institution. However, nearly 10 tonnes of half-eaten mince pies where thrown out – seems a terrible shame to me!

“It’s really difficult to reduce waste at Christmas, but we can all do our bit. It’s really important to split up all the waste you have and put it in the correct bin – some need to be processed differently, like broken Christmas lights.”

Blackpool Council is once again partnering with Trinity Hospice this year, and in exchange for a donation they will come and collect your Christmas tree.

They will be collecting trees on Saturday and Sunday, January 9 and 10 from the FY1, FY2, FY3, FY4, FY5, FY6 and FY8 areas.

To book your collection, visit www.trinityhospice.co.uk/support-us/fundraise-for-us/corporate-fundraising/tree-collection/