The Best Recyclable Wrapping Paper In The UK This Christmas
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There’s no time like the present to get the festive season all wrapped up sustainably. Here are our top recyclable wrapping paper picks this Christmas so you can dream of a green Christmas.
There’s nothing quite like the sight of a little pile of prettily wrapped presents nestled under your Christmas tree, ready to be handed out to loved ones.
However, not all wrapping paper is created equally. Whilst paper itself is widely recyclable, many brands make glittery or foil-embossed gift wrap that isn’t recyclable. Other types of paper may not have the glitter or the foil but may be laminated with plastic – which isn’t recyclable either. Once torn off the presents, these types of paper have to head straight to landfill.
Whilst wrapping paper feels like one very small part of our Christmas festivities, it all adds up. Apparently in the UK alone, we use around 4 rolls of paper per household each Christmas. That works out to a staggering 108 million rolls of wrapping paper each Christmas. That’s a lot of paper that needlessly ends up in landfill.
Thankfully, brands big and small are waking up to the impacts of plastic pollution and waste. There are now heaps of choices when it comes to eco-friendly wrapping paper that is easily recyclable. Read on for our top recommendations – some of which are even made from recycled paper.
The Best Recyclable Wrapping Paper This Christmas
To help you out, here are our top picks of the best recyclable wrapping paper this Christmas, so you can celebrate sustainably:
Marks & Spencer
In a welcome move, all of Marks & Spencer’s Christmas wrapping paper is now both completely plastic-free and fully recyclable.
All of the store’s gift wrap is also sourced from well-managed FSC®-certified forests. This means the paper has been sourced from woodlands that are managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers.
What’s also to love is that rather than wrapping the gift wrap in plastic, the wrapping paper now includes an additional 15 cm of wrap. This protects the paper without the need for unnecessary plastic.
Prices range from £5.50 – £9 for sets.
Re-Wrapped
Anyone who says eco-friendly gift wrap is drab clearly hasn’t come across Re-Wrapped. This British brand – available on Etsy – specialises in bright and colourful wrapping paper for every occasion.
Made solely from 100% recycled unbleached paper and vegetable inks, this wrapping paper is fully recyclable and made and printed in the UK.
Its Christmas range is vast. Whatever colour or design you have in mind you can probably find it at Re-Wrapped.
Prices range from £4.99 for three sheets and tags, to £12.79 for 10 sheets and tags.
Lomond Paper Co.
For seriously stylish recyclable wrapping paper, head straight to Lomond Paper Co. on Etsy this Christmas.
Available in a range of beautiful festive designs, this luxuriously thick paper is ideal if you want to wow your loved ones, without contributing to landfill.
The wrapping paper and tags are fully recyclable, and designed and printed in the UK. What’s more, each sheet is printed on FSC-certified paper.
Prices start from £3 a sheet and tag.
Clara & Macy
Clara & Macy makes and sells charming sets of eco-friendly wrapping paper in a variety of festive designs. This is perfect if you want to give your Christmas gifts a cosy traditional feel.
Each sheet of gift wrap is completely recyclable and is printed on eco-friendly FSC-certified paper.
The green credentials don’t stop there. The tags are strung with compostable cotton baker’s twine. Meanwhile, each pack is sent to you in plastic-free packaging.
Prices start from £4.95.
For one last top tip – if you want to banish plastic sticky tape when you are wrapping your gifts, this year try paper tape. This type of tape is plastic-free and fully recyclable. And it doesn’t just come in brown – it comes in a host of festive designs and colours to jazz up your parcels sustainably.
How To Tell If Christmas Wrapping Paper Is Recyclable
By buying recyclable paper, you can be sure that your wrapping paper can be placed in your recycling bin. However, come Christmas morning you may have unwrapped gifts from others, and you may be uncertain if the gift wrap used is recyclable or not.
Thankfully it’s quite easy to distinguish recyclable wrapping paper from wrapping paper that is not.
Firstly, if the paper is decorated with glitter or embossed with foil then it generally contains plastic. As such, this should go into your general waste bin.
For other types of paper, it can be less clear if they contain plastic. For these types of paper, you need to do the scrunch test.
To do the scrunch test, simply scrunch up a ball of paper in your hand. When you open up your hand, recyclable wrapping paper will stay scrunched in a ball. This can go in your recycling bin, once you’ve removed any tags or ribbons
Meanwhile, plastic-based wrapping paper does not stay in a ball. It opens out. This means this should go in your general waste bin.
That’s A Wrap!
And that’s a wrap! If you are looking for more sustainable gift wrap ideas then do check out my guide to eco-friendly gift wrapping. From reusing and repurposing to using reusable materials, there are heaps of environmentally friendly ideas to wrap your gifts.
You can also check out my big guide to having an eco-friendly Christmas. It has heaps of ideas to green the festive season. From sustainable Christmas trees and decorations, as well as gift ideas, and tackling festive food waste – there’s everything you need to know.
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