Local authorities across the UK are using a wide range of methods to spread the recycling message, from Cherwell district council in Oxfordshire re-writing 'The 12 Days of Christmas' to encourage food waste recycling to the London borough of Camden running a post-Christmas 'give and take' day for unwanted presents.
Sheffield
In Sheffield, the city council's waste contractor Veolia Environmental Services has renewed its commitment to donate money to the Children's Hospital CT Scanner Appeal for all the extra material recycled by the city's householders during the holiday.
The company has said it will donate £500 for every extra 100 tonnes of paper and card, 50 tonnes of glass and 50 tonnes of Christmas trees recycled compared to the amount recycled in 2008.
Veolia has also been active in Portsmouth, working with the city council so that a 'Green Santa' and 'recycling elves' from the city's waste team could appear at green grottos across the city.
Children helped the elves to identify recyclable items from a pile of waste and place them in a recycling bin, before going to see the 'Green Santa' to receive a recycled gift, while adults took part in an educational competition to win a Christmas hamper and received waste reduction tips.
Richard Johnson, commercial director for Veolia Environmental Services in Hampshire, said: “Christmas tends to generate more rubbish, so this imaginative idea by the recycling team was a fun way of spreading the word about recycling.”
Peterborough
Meanwhile, in Peterborough, the city council is calling on residents to recycle their Christmas trees at a special shredding session which will be held on January 10, and is also reminding its householders that they can recycle their Christmas waste with their usual recycling.
And, it also has also been able to give 11 children who attend the Chestnuts Playcentre an early Christmas in the shape of a bicycle, after running a successful 'recycle-a-cycle' initiative at the centre.
The appeal encouraged householders to donate unused, old and rusty children's bicycles that could be revamped, and the 11 best bikes were handed to the children on Tuesday (December 22).
Councillor Sheila Scott, cabinet member for children's services, said: “Every person who donated an unused, old bicycle should be feeling very proud of themselves. They have made Christmas for 11 children that extra bit special and I would like to thank them for making a difference to the children at a time of year where a present like this will bring lots of joy and fun.”
Premier Waste
A call for old bicycles has also gone out in the North-East, where Premier Waste is collecting old cycles at three of the household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) it runs in the region.
The bikes will be reconditioned to help both local families and those overseas in regions such as Africa and Afghanistan, while the company is also encouraging householders to take their old Christmas trees to the HWRCs, to be turned into compost or mulch.
Ashley Cooper, managing director for the disposal division at Premier Waste, said that, while it was important to recycle all the waste produced at Christmas, “it is your Christmas tree and unwanted old bikes that really show that our waste is actually a resource that can benefit others. Your old bikes can help people across the world, while your tree can help grow next year's crop.”
Cherwell
Cherwell district council, in Oxfordshire, is using the festive season as an opportunity to encourage its residents to put food waste into their garden waste recycling bin.
Commenting in the reworked 'Brown Bins of Christmas', councillor George Reynolds, Cherwell's portfolio holder for environment, recreation and health, said: “There is an age-old joke about the turkey lasting for weeks after Christmas. But even the most frugal household is likely to create more waste than usual at this time of year.
“We would like those who are already included in the scheme to think before they scrape those plates – why not feed the brown bin?”
Camden
Meanwhile, in Camden, as well as offering free Christmas tree collection in January, the London borough is also running a post-Christmas give and take day on January 23 for unwanted presents.
And, the council has also run Christmas road shows offering advice including giving 'invisible presents' such as a special day out, taking reusable bags Christmas shopping, buying seasonal food with less packaging from the local market and saving all cans, bottles, paper and card for recycling.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, encouraged all the capital's residents to make use of their recycling service over Christmas and also visit WRAP's 'Love Food Hate Waste' campaign website for ways to reduce their food waste.
“The festive period is a cracking time to prove your eco-credentials by taking time out to recycle, or to get creative with leftovers to cut down on food waste. Let's put London's recycling rate through the roof this Christmas and New Year,” he said.
Cards
A celebrity endorsement for recycling at Christmas comes in the shape of Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench lending her support to the Woodland Trust's Christmas Card Recycling Scheme 2010.
Householders can recycle their Christmas cards in special bins at WHSmith, TK Maxx and Marks & Spencer, throughout January, and can then go online to choose which UK region they would like to plant trees in, with the funding provided by the scheme's retail partners.
Over the 12 years the project has run, 13,080 tonnes of cards have been recycled, and 155,000 trees planted, and, giving her backing to this year's scheme, Dame Judi said: ” “We all enjoy giving and receiving Christmas cards, well thanks to the Woodland Trust there is the chance for a second giving and receiving opportunity this year.
“I would like to challenge people to give to the environment, recycle their cards and then receive trees for their environment by going to www.woodlandtrust.org/cards and choosing where the new trees generated by this year's recycling should be planted.”
Register for free to comment