Have a green Christmas – recycle more!

The festive season results in an estimated 3 million tonnes of waste in the UK  (Institute of engineering and technology, 2011).

Follow these simple tips to turn Christmas into a recycling opportunity and reduce the amount of waste your household produces:

• Send e-cards, or donate your card money to charity
• Turn this year’s Christmas cards into gift tags for next year
• Recycle any cards which can’t be reused in your kerbside recycling collection
• Use re-usable gift bags or boxes instead of wrapping paper
• Buy unpackaged fruit and vegetables
• Home compost your fruit and vegetable peelings
• The average grocery bill for Christmas is £169. Planning for Christmas helps everyone save time and money. Use the Love Food Hate Waste online portion planner whether you’re cooking for family or a party
• Use up leftovers and freeze food that can’t be eaten
• Recycle any unavoidable food waste using your food waste collection, if you have one
• Re-use plastic shopping carrier bags, or use reusable bags, to carry your Christmas shopping
• Buy a re-usable artificial tree or a potted real tree that can be planted in the garden or reused next year
• Get your Christmas tree collected for composting, if available in your area
• Send gift tokens to help reduce waste and allow recipients to choose their ideal gift
• Buy rechargeable batteries, and recycle used household batteries using your red bag at the kerbside or at your local Household Recycling Centre
• Recycle your old Christmas lights, or any other electrical or electronic items at your local household recycling centre

Find out more information about waste and recycling services over the Christmas and New Year period.

Tags: Christmas, Love Food Hate Waste, Recycling