Wasteful weddings: Brit nuptials are creating nearly 40 tonnes of solid waste every year

Creators of high-quality, made-to-order diamond jewellery Austen & Blake have conducted some research to find out just how much waste is created by UK weddings every year and the results are pretty shocking.

According to official statistics there are on average 113,537 weddings across England, Scotland and Wales every year, with almost all of these likely to be followed by celebratory dinners and parties with loved ones. Wrapped up in the excitement of it all, it is easy to get carried away with decorations, flowers, food and everything in between when planning your special day, but have you thought about how much of that will end up in the bin at the end of the day?

There is a magnitude of solid waste that no longer serves a purpose when the big day comes to an end with the average wedding producing one third of a metric tonne of solid waste**. This equates to a shocking 37.8 tonnes of solid waste produced every single year when combining the waste from each wedding that takes place in the UK per year.

Don’t be fooled however, food waste doesn’t come under the umbrella term ‘solid waste’ and as a past survey* has revealed that 10% of couples eventually threw their cake away, Austen & Blake worked this out to be 11353.7 wedding cakes, with a staggering monetary value of £3,292,573!

If the waste created wasn’t enough of a blow for the environment, the amount of carbon dioxide created by weddings is potentially more shocking. With a single UK wedding producing 14.5 tonnes***, all 113,537 of them are collectively emitting a ghastly 1,646,286.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year.

Not all is lost however, there is still time to make a change! Austen & Blake have created an infographic full of information to help you choose more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to some of your wedding day must haves. From upcycling your decor, switching plastics for biodegradable substitutes, opting for native flowers from local florists and selecting caterers that use locally sourced produce, there are numerous ways to make your big day that little bit greener.

Anthony French, diamond expert at Austen & Blake says, “We came across a number of shocking statistics around the waste created at weddings, but we wanted to uncover the real magnitude of the problem by looking at how much waste is created each year in the UK alone, and well the results are pretty scary.

“Weddings are the biggest day in many people’s lives and it is so easy to get caught up in the excitement and planning, and with that we can get a little bit greedy, ordering more food than we actually need, extra decor ‘just incase’ and the most exotic show stopping flowers possible – but it is about time we start thinking about the impacts this might have.

“The environment is something we have the power to protect and whilst we have the chance it is certainly worth taking into consideration when planning your wedding day. As our infographic shows, there are so many ways to plan a greener wedding, such as opting for natural or biodegradable wedding favours, asking for guests to use recyclable wrapping paper and even selecting responsibly sourced wedding jewellery to really seal the deal!”