The Great British Christmas Declutter

Wasteful Brits purge homes of 66 million bin-bags of stuff in preparation for Christmas

• Our research finds a third of Brits clear out at Christmas to create space for new gifts
• The UK receives 81 million unwanted presents each year
• One in 10 of these gifts end up in landfill

The extent of Christmas waste is revealed, with the latest figures show UK households are set to clear out a massive 66 million bin-bags worth of stuff – and that’s just in preparation for the festive season.

We found that almost two-fifths (38%) of British households will roll up their sleeves for a pre-Christmas clear out, with a third (33%) of Brits confessing this is purely to create space for new gifts.

Despite purging their homes to make space, almost two-thirds of people surveyed are expecting to receive unwanted gifts that they will never use.

In fact, most Britons receive a total of 81 million unwanted presents annually, with each household receiving three on average. Shockingly, one in 10 of these will end up in landfill.

Perfume topped the list of gifts most likely to be re-gifted or thrown away, while clothing and gadgets came in at a close second and third respectively.

Our eCommerce Director Paul Treanor said Ziffit said: “I was surprised to find out just how many unwanted presents Brits accumulate each year. It’s also astonishing to see that, as a nation, we get rid of such a huge amount in the run up to Christmas, only to make space for more unwelcome stuff.

"Encouragingly our research showed that the nation’s first port of call was to take unwanted gifts to a charity shop. However, a third of the people we surveyed admitted they put these presents away and forget about them, while shockingly one in 10 Brits simply throw unwelcome gifts in the bin.

“We know from our customers that unwanted gifts can, in fact, be a real lifeline for your finances, with plenty of money to be made from selling presents online – and keeping them out of landfill.”

* The survey commissioned by Ziffit.com surveyed 2000 people across the UK in November 2016

Here at Ziffit.com we make it easy to sell your unwanted books, CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and games for cash!

Check out our free app (available in the App Store and Google Play) that scans bar codes and instantly offers the price for each item and shows the accumulated total for all items scanned.

Submit a trade on 4th December '16 and earn an extra 10% cash on your trade. Simply use voucher XMAS10 before you complete your trade.