Christmas is a time for celebration and with a little planning your festivities can be ‘greener’.
“The waste collection service is always under pressure clearing up after the Christmas and New Year festivities,” says Jonathan Eastwood – Isle of Anglesey County Council’s Principal Waste Management Officer, “This time of year is still an opportunity to reduce, reuse and recycle.”
Over 8 million ‘real’ Christmas trees are sold in the UK in December If you have a cut tree then when you have finished with it you could take it to Breakwater Country Park in Holyhead between the 4th and 31st January 2010. Last year over 70 trees were chipped and used to make valuable mulch for the Country Park. Just remember to take off all the tinsel and decorations before bringing it to Breakwater Country Park in January.
Your waste collection day may be different during the Christmas period and it may be permanently changing in the New Year. All households should have received a letter from the Council’s Waste Management Section informing you of your new collection day. Please keep your letter safe and use the information to get you recycling bins and black or green bin out for collection on the correct day. This will improve the efficiency and the environmental impact of collecting your waste. If you require more information please call 01248 752 860.
The Christmas collection days for your recycling boxes and your black bin are available at www.anglesey.gov.uk/christmaswaste
“We are achieving 44 per cent recycling and composting rates thanks to the support of householders on Anglesey,” says Cllr Bob Parry OBE, the Council’s Environmental Portfolio Holder, “our next challenging target is to reach 70 per cent in 2024/25 and planning at Christmas could help.”
If a new sofa or TV is on the top of your Christmas or January sales list, “Make sure that you get rid of your waste in a responsible way, by using a registered waste carrier.” says Helen Jenkins, Fly-tipping Action Wales Co-ordinator. For advice on where and how to get rid of waste responsibly and how to find a registered waste carrier log onto www.environment-agency.gov.uk/publicregister Householders on Anglesey are eligible for two free bulky waste collections (up to four items) a year, call the Waste Management Section on 01248 752 860 for more information. Or could a piece of furniture be useful to someone else? Call Future for Furniture who will pick up items for free. Call 01248 724433
“It is important to reduce the waste in your black bin as this goes to landfill, think can this be reused or recycled before you throw anything away,” says Jonathan.
Here are some ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle at Christmas:
- take a reusable bag out shopping with you
- plan your meals, portion sizes and buy what you can eat and enjoy
- put vegetable peelings in your home compost bin, it’ll be ready for Spring
- think how you might use leftovers to create an easy tasty meal; cold cuts, turkey curry, turkey wraps, turkey pie or turkey noodle soup
- bones and plate scrapping can be put in your brown food waste bin
- use china plates and table linen for parties you can wash these again and again
- question the amount of food packaging used, could you find it without packaging or cook something from scratch to avoid ready meal type packaging
- glass containers such as cranberry sauce or mincemeat jars and glass wine or beer bottles can go in your blue recycling box
- keep the fronts of Christmas cards to make gift tags, bookmarks or use to make next year’s cards
- recycle Christmas cards in your red box, at recycling banks on the Island or take them to any in-store collection points
- could you re-gift present, pass on an unwanted present to a local charity shop or donate them to charity raffles / bingo / tombola during 2010
- if you receive a new mobile phone for Christmas, why not recycle your old phone. Many schools receive money for old phones
- have a New Year sort out, charity shops are keen to take quality items, or sell items at on-line action web sites, offer things for free with ‘www.freecycle.org’ or use one of the clothing banks on the island
- if you intend to be healthy in the New Year don’t throw away untouched Christmas biscuits and sweets, just put them on a high shelf. They will be required for an occasion or party before the use by date
