Unwrapping a present is an exciting thing that not just children enjoy. But once the gift is revealed what do you do with the now useless paper?
If you have ever looked at a pile of torn up wrapping paper and wondered if it can go in the recycle bin or needs to be thrown in the general waste bin, you aren’t alone.
Many people aren’t sure if gift paper can be recycled or not, including myself. So I decided to do some research to answer the question: can you recycle wrapping paper in the UK?
Here is what I found out…
Most UK Councils Won’t Accept Gift Paper In Home Recycling
As with anything to do with recycling here in the UK, it’s not a clear picture. With every local council having their own rules, there is no definitive answer whether you can recycle gift wrap or not.
However, after doing some digging I found out that most councils won’t accept wrapping paper at their household waste recycling centres.
Others will only allow it if it’s pure paper. So it’s always advisable to check with your local authority to make sure.
But why do only some authorities accept gift wrap? The various household waste recycling centres around the country have different facilities and equipment, which means some can handle different recycling needs.
Those that will accept it, will only do so if the wrapping paper is pure paper, as otherwise it’s not possible to recycle it. We will get into what gift wrap is made of in a bit.
But not all paper mills will be able to recycle the thin paper used to wrap gifts. It doesn’t have much good quality fibre, making it difficult to make new paper products out of.
If your local authority accepts pure paper wrap, you can use the scrunch test to find out if your gift wrap is made only from paper.
Simply scrunch up the paper in your hand. If it scrunches up into a ball and stays that way, it’s only paper and you can recycle it at home. If not, it contains other materials and needs to go into your general waste bin.
So What Is Gift Wrap Made Of?
To fully understand why you can’t recycle wrapping paper with most UK councils at their household waste recycling centres, we have to delve into what most of it is made of.
Because often there isn’t much paper involved, despite the name. At least, not any more, as in the past that’s what it was that was used to wrap presents. Actually, according to the Jane Austen Centre, before paper was used, Victorians would use lace and ribbons, as well as decorated paper to wrap gifts.
Today we have all sorts of fancy gift wraps we can use for any occasion. But the problem is that most of them aren’t just paper, they contain other materials too, such as foil.
And even plastic, in the form of polypropylene, which means it can’t be recycled. And then you have all the decorative additions, such as gold and silver colourings, and glitter.
Glitter is basically microplastics, which we know are a huge problem for our environment. Microplastics have been found in most creatures on the planet. (Baalkhuyur et al., 2018, Hernandez-Gonzales et al., 2018, Provencher et al., 2020), even plants (Zantis et al., 2022).
Most gift wraps are also laminated and dyed to make them easier to use and look nicer. But a study has found that the colouring used contain many heavy metals, such as copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, lead and zinc, which can leak out causing environmental harm. (Bertagnolli and Katz, 2007)
As we have said you can use the scrunch test to find out if your wrapping paper is made of pure paper or not. But it will still depend on your local authority if you can recycle it at home or have to put it in the general waste bin.
And don’t forget to remove any sticky tape, as this will make the paper non-recyclable.
The Big Issue With Gift Wrapping
If gift paper mostly isn’t recyclable, this means it will end in landfill, which will contribute to our waste problem. Did you know that in the UK alone we use 227,000 miles of gift wrap each Christmas?
Now add other gifting occasions like birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day, and anniversaries, and you can easily imagine how much waste wrapping presents creates every year in this country alone.
According to the IMF, we produce 2 billion tonnes of waste worldwide every year, which is expected to increase by 70% by 2050.
With waste being responsible for 20% of methane emissions, according to the UN Environment Programme, all this waste we produce by wrapping gifts gets a sinister meaning.
Especially if you also know that methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to global warming, the UN reported.
But there are other environmental impacts of wrapping paper, which you can learn about in our guide.
There is only one solution: we have reduce the waste we reduce considerably. And why not start with wrapping paper?
Sustainable Gift Wrapping
There are many ways you can reduce the amount of waste you produce when giving gifts. The most obvious one is to not wrap presents any more.
I do understand that part of getting a gift is the excitement of unwrapping it, especially for children. But it’s worth considering using it less, if not with children, maybe with family and friends.
But if you can’t do without, sustainable gift wrapping is just the thing for you. It’s amazing how many things you can use to wrap presents without being wasteful:
- Any recyclable paper – think news paper, magazines, children’s drawings, the brown paper you get as filler in online deliveries, etc. – Just get creative!
- Fabrics – old clothes, scarfs, or any other fabric you could use to make your own reusable gift wrap
- Gift boxes – these can be decorated delivery boxes or proper nice cardboard boxes that can be reused or recycled
- Gift bags – either one per present or one for all presents
As you can see there are so many ways you can make opening gifts exciting without creating huge piles of waste.
We’ve a list of eco-friendly wrapping paper alternatives you can choose from that will make giving presents a joy for everyone, including the environment.
Want more ways to reduce waste in your household? Read our article with the best zero-waste ideas to get started.
Sustainable Gifting
Now that we know most wrapping paper isn’t recyclable in the UK, continuing to use it isn’t an option if you want to live a more sustainable life.
There are plenty of alternatives, as we have seen, but the gift wrap isn’t the only concern. It’s also a question of what’s the present. Don’t get me wrong, I love giving presents.
There is nothing better than seeing someone’s eyes light up and smile broadly after seeing a gift I got them. But over the years I’ve come to realise that I was overdoing it.
I used to buy so many gifts, the more the better. Today, I practice sustainable gifting, which means I don’t just buy anything they might like. I put a lot of thought into it.
I now focus on two things: usefulness and experiences. This means I only gift things that people will use or need and I love to buy experiences, such as a cooking class for Chinese dumplings, tickets to see a new show, and things like that.
Sustainable gifting doesn’t mean being stingy, it means buying with intent and being thoughtful. I rather give one present that is useful, thought out, and has a purpose that cost more money than three or four cheaper ones that are jus things.
Moving to sustainable gifting has to go hand-in-hand with with switching to eco-friendly wrapping paper alternatives, if you want to become more sustainable. So give it a go!
And if you need some inspiration or more concrete examples of eco-friendly gifts, we put together a list of 14 sustainable gift ideas for you.
Also, let’s not overlook the greeting card. Many cards aren’t recyclable, because they contain materials such as glitter or foil. Look out for cards that are made of pure paper and can be recycled.
Fancy going a step further and turn your Christmas greener? With our eco-friendly Christmas decoration ideas, you can make it happen.
