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Christmas cheer turning into sustainability fear
Pick presents wisely this festive season or risk your gifts being destined for the bin. One in three Aussies now considers Christmas to be “the most wasteful time of the year”.
Christmas cheer turning into sustainability fear
Pick presents wisely this festive season or risk your gifts being destined for the bin. One in three Aussies now considers Christmas to be “the most wasteful time of the year”.
According to a new survey from ING, 41 per cent of Australians believed that ill-considered gifts were a significant contributor to the problem of waste during the festive season, compounded by excessive use of packaging and plastics.
ING said an estimated 10 million unwanted gifts were received last Christmas, coming at both an environmental and a financial cost.
More than a quarter of those surveyed revealed that they would prefer to direct family and friends towards gifts they actually want rather than risking unwanted gifts going to waste.
ING’s head of retail bank, Melanie Evans, said: “Every Christmas, the shopping frenzy results in tons of unwanted gifts going into landfill.”
The ING research revealed that novelty items topped the list for the most unwanted items, with 51 per cent of respondents surveyed indicating they would not want such a gift.
Candles and pamper products came in equal second place, with 40 per cent indicating they would not want to receive either of these.
Pyjamas and slippers (35 per cent) and underwear or socks (32 per cent) were also notably unwanted.
More than three in 10 respondents (31 per cent) conceded that it is “hard” to avoid single-use plastics over the festive period.
ING also said the biggest drivers of holiday waste, according to Australians, were: excess gift packaging (65 per cent), wrapping paper (61 per cent), single-use decorations (56 per cent), food packaging (59 per cent) and leftover food (55 per cent).
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