Organisers of the annual Christmas card recycling campaign have thanked the public after revealing that 91 million cards were recycled through the scheme this year.

The Woodland Trust, which runs the campaign every January with collection banks in WH Smith, Tesco and TK Maxx stores, said almost 2,000 tonnes of Christmas cards were handed in for recycling in 2007.

The achievement marks a three-fold increase in the recycling of Christmas cards in the last five years - around 28 million cards were collected in the first year of the campaign in 2002.

Collected cards are recycled by Severnside Recycling and SCA Recycling. As well as helping to cut down on waste going to landfill, the achievement will mean the Trust will also be able to fund the planting of more than 22,000 new trees.

Janette Wickens of the Woodland Trust said: "Thanks must go to everyone who recycled their cards this year - it's a huge achievement. The campaign has grown massively in the last five years and that's down to public support - and the media too, by really embracing it."

Celebrities

This year's campaign, which was supported by the national Recycle Now campaign, was launched with celebrity endorsements from the likes of actress Jane Horrocks, Olympic medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent and TV presenters Sian Lloyd, Dale Winton and Charlie Dimmock.

Nick Power, project manager for the scheme at Severnside, which collects material for recycling from Tesco stores, said: "Pushing recycling thresholds higher and higher is never easy, so it's particularly rewarding to see that yet again the Christmas Card Recycling Scheme has recorded record results.

"It's great testimony to all involved, and not least to the public who are demonstrating a real understanding of what is at stake if we don't recycle more," Mr Power said.