The Guardian view on waste: the festive season is a good time to think about rubbish | Editorial
A A study suggesting that up to 168 million bright Christmas decorations and similar items could be thrown away in a single year in the UK is worrying, if not surprising, in light of long-standing challenges with recycling rates and waste reduction. Even though the actual figure is lower, there is no doubt that battery-powered and electric toys, lights and gifts are proliferating like never before. Despite many comments aimed at reducing consumption during the festive period, including excess packaging and waste, disposable string lights and flashing figurines have grown in popularity. Houses, front gardens and shopping streets become brighter and brighter with each passing year.
Batteries and electrical appliances present particular difficulties during disposal because they cause fires. But they represent only part of a broader problem of excessive waste – and weak regulatory oversight. UK exports of plastic waste increased by 5% in 2024 to almost 600,000 tons. A new report on plastics from the Pew Charitable Trusts warns that global production is expected to increase 52% by 2040 – to 680 million tonnes – outstripping the capacity of the world’s waste management systems.
Some retailers in the UK and elsewhere have reduced their packaging. The online business of second-hand clothing is booming. But the biggest recent rows over waste in the UK are over sewage, not consumer goods. An overhaul of water sector regulations is expected to address this problem, following a review this summer. It remains highly likely that the worst performing company, Thames Water, will fall into special administration.
But Ofwat is not the only regulator to face criticism for its performance on pollution and waste. The Environment Agency has come under increasing criticism as the problem of illegal rubbish dumping has gone from a local problem in a handful of places to a national problem.
In October, the House of Lords Environment Committee called on the government to urgently review its approach to this “severely under-prioritized” problem. An illegal dumpsite in Hoad’s Wood in Kent is being cleaned up at a cost of £15 million. But six similar sites in England are known to the Environment Agency. Activists say the situation risks degenerating if enforcement efforts are not quickly stepped up.
Battery-powered string lights may seem insignificant against the backdrop of the vast piles of toxic waste or the 3.6 million hours of raw sewage spills for which England’s water industry was responsible last year. But environmental organizations are right to draw attention to the role of consumers as well as industry. The Environment Agency should have been strengthened in the context of the climate crisis – not weakened and underfunded as it was under the Conservatives. But people can make a difference when it comes to waste, both in their decisions about what to buy, keep and get rid of – and in their political opinions and choices.
Another report, published last month by consultancy Hybrid Economics, said the UK could end its reliance on plastic waste exports and create 5,400 new jobs if it invested in 15 new recycling facilities. The lights on buildings and trees are cheering as the holidays approach, but we shouldn’t ignore what happens when they are turned off.
