14/12/2012 - Permalink

Reduce your Christmas waste this year

Related topics: Community

Christmas generates an extra three quarters of a million tonnes of waste in the UK.  The greenhouse gases produced by this additional waste is 1.5million tonnes – the same as all the electricity consumed in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire in a year.  

Whilst much of this additional waste can be recycled, reducing the amount of waste produced in the first place is always preferable.  Shropshire Council is promoting a number of initiatives to reduce its Christmas waste this year. 

  • We’ve  teamed up with getcomposting.com to provide an exclusive offer of cheap home compost bins.  Home composting allows you to transform all your Christmas fruit and vegetable peelings a lovely rich soil conditioner for your garden.
  • Over Christmas we tend to end up throwing away quite a bit of food: so households can save some crucial Christmas pennies, we’re backing the Love Food Hate Waste campaign – www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
  • We’re supporting local furniture recycling charities who can accept donations of unwanted electrical items and help those in need to have a happy Christmas too.
  • Its nice to receive some Christmas cards in the post, but you can block the unwanted junk mail simply by signing up to the free mailing preference service online at www.mpsonline.org.uk. 

Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said:

“By reducing the amount of waste we all create throughout the year, but especially over Christmas, we can protect the environment but can also reduce the amount that it costs the council to collect and dispose of waste – two great incentives to reduce our waste.”