We generate a huge amount of waste over the festive period, much of which can be recycled or reused without much additional effort.

• Click here to down load a free copy of our "Jingle all the way to the recycling bin" poster. Print the poster and put it up at home, work or school to remind you to recycle this Christmas.
• Send a Christmas Ecard and save paper and postage. Visit www.recyclenow.com and choose one of their 12 designs.
• This Christmas you can recycle Christmas cards in your kerbside recycling collection (except for the ones with glitter on them).
• Look out for gifts with packaging that can be reused or recycled easily.  Gift bags can be reused again and again.  Some retailers are packaging goods in tins that can be easily recycled or plastics containers that can be used for food storage at home
• We cannot accept wrapping paper in kerbside recycling collections. There are many different types of wrapping paper including some made of plastic, lots are made of low grade paper and others have a metallic element. It is not always clear what type of wrapping paper it is which makes it really difficult to sort the different tpes and then recycle them.
• A good way to reduce wrapping waste is to use 'furoshiki' a Japanese-style of wrapping presents with material which can then be reused. Watch the video on www.recyclenow.com
• The wire ties that often accompany gift packaging can be kept aside and reused as garden ties as they are not generally recyclable
• In the UK approximately 250 tonnes of Christmas trees that could have been recycled are simply thrown out after Christmas.
• Recycle your real Christmas tree at your local household waste site. Alternatively, buy a living tree that can be planted in the garden when you’ve finished with it.
• 13,350 tonnes of glass is thrown out in the UK during the festive season – from champagne and sherry bottles to mincemeat and cranberry sauce jars. Recycling all of them could save 4,200 tonnes of CO2 equivalent being produced, which is equivalent to taking around 1300 cars off the road for one year or to not taking around 630 around the world flights. 
• A whole range of jars - from cranberry sauce to mincemeat and baby food - can all be recycled: just give them a rinse in your leftover dish washing water and recycle them with your other glass.  Don't worry about removing labels; they will come off in the recycling process
• Remember to tell guests where your recycling bins are and what goes in them when they stay over Christmas
• Keep your recycling bin next to the main bin so you can take out the rubbish and recycle at the same time
• Get your kids involved in the household recycling routine. It’s a great educational activity
• Why not look out for items containing recycled material as gifts this Christmas?  A growing range of clothes, furniture and even electronic goods containing some recycled material will make perfect ‘green’ gifts this Christmas
• With a mass of new gifts being given and received this Christmas, there are bound to be clear outs of old furniture or tired models of equipment.  Why not visit a local Swap Shop or donate unwanted items to your local reuse organisation.
• Don't forget to put the vegetable peelings from your Christmas dinner in your home compost bin, plus all the extra newspaper and cardboard.
• Visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for handy hints and tips on how you could have a waste free Christmas lunch. Only buy what you really need, think about how many people you are cooking for and how much they realistically eat – think about portion sizes.
• You can make some really delicious meals from leftovers, find simple recipes at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com or recreate your very own 'Ready Steady Cook' and see what meals you can make.