Waste less and reduce your festive footprint!

In Gloucestershire we will generate nearly 26,000 tonnes of waste - that’s a staggering 10% of the year’s total rubbish during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.  It amounts to an extra four or five sacks of waste for a typical family!

During the festive season, it is predicted that Gloucestershire residents will use an extra 134 tonnes of glass bottles and jars,– from champagne and sherry bottles to mincemeat and cranberry sauce jars.  These can be easily recycled.  All of the local councils collect them, as part of their door-to-door collection scheme.  They can also be taken to your local Recycling Bank or Household Recycling Centre, which will be open every day throughout the holiday period excluding Christmas Day and New Years Day.  Full details are on www.recycleforgloucestershire.com

The amount of wrapping paper estimated to be thrown away in the UK this Christmas could stretch around the equator nine times or to the moon if each sheet was laid end to end!  Why not use string to tie up parcels, so that the paper can be reused.

Whilst preparing the Christmas dinner we create a mountain of waste, including peelings from 240 million sprouts; 105 million potatoes and 20 million carrots across the UK.    Why not start home composting?  You can make use of all that additional uncooked food waste (excluding dairy, meat and fish).  If you make a start now, you could have some good compost for your garden by the summer.

Prices for compost bins start from £15 (plus £5.49 delivery, per order). Buy one get another one 1/2 price!  Not only does a compost bin make a unique and useful gift, it is also a positive way to start the New Year by helping to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, whilst reaping the benefits for your garden.  So what are you waiting for?  Visit www.recycleforgloucestershire.com for more details.

Research has shown that around a quarter of our Christmas gifts are unwanted.  Pass on your unwanted gifts to a local charity shop, or offer them on the web for free via www.freecycle.org.uk or www.ilovefreegle.org/ .

If you’ve been inundated with junk mail this Christmas, contact the Mailing Preference Service to remove your name from mailing lists.  Register online at www.mpsonline.org.uk or call 0845 703 4599.

Finally, if you have any small electrical items you no longer want, ‘don’t bin it, bring it’ to your local Household Recycling Centre.

Cllr Stan Waddington, Cabinet Project Champion for Waste, said: “As you can see from these statistics, there will be a significant amount of waste generated over the festive period.  Where possible, we encourage residents to reduce, reuse and recycle to reduce the impact on the environment.”