Guardian article about Christmas lights

[Fifthtimelucky]

I thought this article in the Guardian was worth sharing, in the hope that we can do better this year with recycling our electrical items.

“UK households have thrown away an estimated 168m light-up Christmas items and other “fast-tech” gifts over the past year, a study suggests.
The research by the non-profit group Material Focus found about £1.7bn was spent last year on Christmas lighting, including 39m sets of fairy lights.

“Consumers bought a further 28m light-up items such as garlands, wreaths, stars and snow globes, along with 23m light-up figures and characters and 16m pre-lit Christmas trees.

“The research was based on information provided by 4,000 UK adults, who were asked how many cheap light-up electrical items they bought and how many were thrown away. This was then extrapolated to the UK population – giving a figure of 168m items consigned to the bin.

“The researchers said disposable technology was often powered by batteries that if thrown away or recycled incorrectly can be crushed in bin lorries, potentially sparking fires.

“There were more than 1,200 battery fires in bins and waste centres in 2023-24, an increase of 71% on the year before. Many were the result of poor disposal practices.

“Separate research found that 1.1bn of all types of electricals and 450m batteries are thrown away irresponsibly each year.

“Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, said: “We understand ‘fast tech’ Christmas lights and gifts, and the traditions around them, help make Christmas the most joyful time of year for many. But as we reach the new year and the novelty’s worn off or the festive lights have broken yet again, why not start 2026 by creating your own positive impact?

“If it can’t be fixed, donated or sold, always recycle them. Electricals with hidden batteries must always be recycled separately from your household rubbish and recycling.””

Scrooge would be proud. Perhaps we should go back to real candles on Christmas trees.

It has a point, though. I’m always balking at the sheer waste of this time of year. Part of the problem is that sets of lights are so cheap and not very durable.

I'm surprised plastic trees aren't considered more antisocial. Especially when the alternative is a real tree.

And yet everyone’s skint 🤔

How depressing. Humans are so wasteful. Waste from things that are really needed is one thing but creating loads of extra, unrecyclable waste just for a bit of extra twinkle is so depressing to me.

The latest ONS figures I can find say that there are around 28.6m households in the UK.

So if the Material Focus research is accurate, last year we bought 1.3 sets of fairy lights, one light up item and half a pre-lit Christmas tree for every household.

I have lights on my tree, another set of fairy lights around a window, and other Christmas decorations with lights, so I certainly don’t object to them in principle, but I have had them all for years. The article has made me realise that I will have to think seriously about whether or not to replace them when they fail. On the plus side, I am pretty good at recycling electrical things appropriately.

@scaltI did once go to visit someone whose tree had real candles. She was German and had always had real ones in her childhood. They looked beautiful but scared me stiff!

@Fifthtimelucky Those stats are interesting. Like you, we haven’t bought lights for years. We have fairy lights for the tree, another set which go round the dresser and an outdoor set on the front of the house. These have all been going for years, so clearly some households are buying ridiculous amounts every year.

I have lights that I bring out year after year, as have all my neighbours ( outside lights, same every year) The only lights I've had to throw away after a year have been the solar powered ones that have stopped working after being bought a year ago and the then not working this year. I will put them outside for the recycling as we have an electricals collection. My electric plug in lights are still going. Having said that, the amount of stuff I have had to return to shops after a couple of months because of shoddy stitching that's come apart/broken zips etc this year is shocking. I presume they just get thrown away by the shops, but they wouldn't have to be returned and thrown away if they had been made properly in the first place. I think a large part of the problem is that things are being made really crappily and just don't last.

I have heard about some people who buy new decorations every year, which sounds wasteful to me.

I like seeing the same decorations coming out each year - it’s part of the joy of Christmas for me. I do buy a new decoration or two each year, but as with pretty much everything, we buy stuff that will last, and we look after things, and mend them if necessary, so they last as long as possible.

Shops don't make money out of selling good quality items that last a long time and can be repaired, they make money out of crap that needs constant replacing.

We have had to throw away several sets of fairy lights & candle bridges etc over the last few years because the build quality is shit and they've stopped working.

If only we could go back to yesteryear when your set of lights lasted a generation and all you needed to do was buy a pack of spare bulbs from Woolworths every now and again.

Like garden solar lights. I've discovered in recent years that many of them really do not last well, so will not be buying any again.

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius I agree. I love seeing the same decorations come out year after year. My oldest ones date back to 1991, which is the year my husband and I first moved in together.

I also agree with @JaninaDuszejko Shops want us to keep buying new stuff. Similarly, as a nation we want to keep buying new stuff, and to buy it cheaply. It’s the same with clothes.

I’ve got an artificial tree which I’ve had over 20 years and I don’t think I’ll ever need to buy another. The decorations mostly likewise. DD might end up inheriting them (some of our tinsel is inherited!)

I bought a new set of lights this year and a new tree. The tree (which was held together with tape last year 😔 - we put the tree up two Sundays before Christmas Day) and the lights were over 20 years old, bought in Woolworths - both held up. Had to replace some baubles as they too were ancient.

But that's it for me. Cannot have a real tree as I'm allergic - sets my psoriasis off.

Yup, our tree is about to see its 30th Christmas.

Consumerism at its finest