We wish you a wasteless Christmas

Recycle

Christmas decorations, food and gifts all create an excess of rubbish at this time of year. But one way to make a big difference immediately is simply to put more correct items in the recycle bin. This will help us to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and incinerators and prevent pollution.

And the good news is that lots of Christmas waste including cards, envelopes, brown paper wrapping paper and cardboard can all go in the blue lidded recycle bin (but please remove tape, plastic bows and ribbon as these clog up the recycling machinery). Unfortunately wrapping paper that is foil, plastic or glittery can’t be recycled.

Clean and dry all your glass bottles and jars and pop them in your glass collection box, or nearest glass collection point.

And if Santa left new battery powered toys and electrical gadgets under your Christmas tree and you need to dispose of old batteries or electricals, please don’t put these items in your household bin. Simply take them to one of the many drop off points at supermarkets and retailers across the city, or to the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Millbrook.

And when you’re ready to take down the Christmas tree you can also take this to Household Waste Recycling Centre and dump it in the garden waste bin so it can be recycled to be reused as compost.

Check our recycling guide for more details on what you can and can’t recycle at home.

Reuse

Lots of Christmas items can be kept and reused next year to help save both money and the environment. Transform this year’s Christmas cards into next year’s gift tags and keep ribbons and bows to use again.

Remember your rubbish could be someone else’s treasure, so before throwing away unwanted gifts or household items try donating them to charity or advertising them on sites like freecycle. If you have old bikes, buggies or furniture to get rid of that you can’t sell please book a bulky waste collection or take them to the Household Waste Recycling Centre.