We will use enough plastic this Christmas to make 2.4m Frozen Snow Glow Elsa dolls
According to Repak, which is hoping for a green Christmas, more than half of the gifts received will be considered useless.
Six out of 10 women put dodgy-smelling perfume gift sets at the top of their unwanted gift list, followed by bath sets (25%), decorative boxes (23%), and chick- lit novels (22%).
Almost half of men (46%) said their most useless gifts were novelty socks and underwear.
Four out of 10 said their most unwanted present was a dull biography of a person in whom they had no interest. But the greatest gift for most people is the time they had to spend with loved ones — 65% said that is what they liked best about Christmas.
For 13% it was giving presents, followed closely by time off work (12%). An honest 2% listed receiving presents as their favourite thing about Christmas. Further down the list was religious significance (4%) and partying (3%)
Three quarters of people will recycle their unwanted gifts in some way — 44% will bring them to a charity shop or recycling centre.
Almost a third (30%) will pass on an unwanted present as a gift. Just 25% will leave the unwanted gifts in a cupboard to gather dust.
On Christmas Day, four out of 10 people will eat double what they would normally eat and half will dump leftovers in the bin.
Repak chief executive Seamus Clancy said the flurry of consumption that happens at Christmas resulted in a significant amount of waste and 25% more packaging recycling.
This Christmas, we will use enough glass to bottle over 1.2m cases of wine. We will use enough plastic to create more than 2.4m Frozen Snow Glow Elsa dolls. We will use enough aluminium to cover the distance to Lapland more than 395 times.
It is expected that people will generate 62,368 tonnes of packaging waste over the Christmas period.
Food and gift packaging will generate the most waste, followed by unwanted gifts and over-piled Christmas dinner plates.
“While some of us might be hoping for a white one, Repak wants to make this Christmas Ireland’s greenest yet and beat last year’s packaging recycling totally,” said Mr Clancy.
Ireland is now second in Europe for packaging recycling rates and Repak wants consumer to keep up the good work over the holiday period.
To maximise space in green bins Repak is advising people to wash and squash containers; crush or fold boxes; and fold rather than scrunch wrapping paper.
