Be Nice not Naughty: Reduce Waste this Christmas

227,000 miles of wrapping paper is thrown away each year at Christmas time. Help join the fight against paper waste. It’s easy:

• Use gift bags because they are reusable.
• Save your Christmas cards, you can make new cards or gift tags out of them next year.
• Or… don’t use Christmas cards at all, instead send E-cards.
• Scrap the wrap! Save your pennies (and the planet) by using old newspapers or left over brown paper. And I promise, they look great!

It’s easy to just pile all the old presents you don’t really want in the back of the closet. But there’s a world of people out there who could make good use of them!

• Why not donate on Freecycle – it’s a free network where users advertise things they don’t want that other people can take free of charge.
• Or send them to a charity shop.

8 billion Christmas trees were used last year, and most of these were thrown away! This needn’t be the case, and they are easy to recycle:

• Lots of councils offer household Christmas tree collections. The trees are then shredded and used as compost to help next year’s trees grow. Or, they are used as chipping to cover pathways.
• If your business needs a Christmas tree collection - we can help. Contact our helpdesk to find out more.
• If you purchase a real tree, source it from a sustainable grower and make sure it has Forest Stewardship Council accreditation.
• An even more sustainable option is getting a living Christmas tree with roots. Christmas Trees Delivered sell pot grown trees, which you can replant in your garden each year. A Christmas tree for life! Click here to find out more. 

• It is estimated that 500 tonnes of Christmas tree lights will be binned each year – even though they can be recycled.  If you have broken lights at home, make sure you recycle them properly. Recyclenow explains how. And if your company would like their Christmas lights recycled, we can help them. Click here to find out about our electrical recycling collections.
• Another tip is to transform old knick-knacks into Christmas decorations. Christmas cards can be used for Christmas themed bunting; baby mittens too small for your children can make a pretty bauble; paint fallen pinecones to create a wintry ornament; or decorate old lightbulbs to make stylish decorations.