'Staggering' 908 tonnes of waste thrown out in Luton over Christmas period

The online survey carried out by TradeWaste.co.uk asked 4,500 people about the contents of their Christmas bins.

“People in Luton 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 14 tonnes of half-eaten mince pies where thrown out - seems a terrible shame to me!”, said Charlotte Green, from TradeWaste.

Christmas food lovers (and haters) in Luton chucked out this year:

> 424 tonnes of food packaging;

> 152 tonnes of leftover Christmas dinners;

> 74 tonnes of glass drink bottles;

> 22 tonnes of drink cans;

> 14 tonnes of leftover mince pies;

> 6 tonnes of cheese.

Luckily, 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.

Christmas lights should never 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 we are chucking out in Luton this week include:

> 90 tonnes of Christmas cards

> 52 tonnes of Christmas wrapping paper

> 37 tonnes of Christmas decorations

> 36 tonnes of Christmas trees

> 205 miles of broken Christmas lights

“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. I just want to know who is chucking out mince pies, send them to me!”, added Ms Green from recycling firm TradeWaste.co.uk