It’s likely that many homes in Gwynedd will have produced more waste than usual over the Christmas holidays – between the extra food bought for the celebrations and all the festive cards, the rubbish can quickly pile up.
Gwynedd Council’s Waste and Recycling Team is urging people to keep up the good work of recycling and composting as much waste as possible, and to follow the Council’s guidelines for extra waste over the holidays.
During January people can put their Christmas tree beside their brown bin on their usual collection day or cut it up and put it in your brown bin for garden waste. The tree can also be taken to one of the Council’s recycling centres.
Christmas cards can be put in the blue recycling box, or they can be kept to make gift tags for next Christmas.
During the holiday season, when many people have been enjoying festive food and parties, it’s important to put food scraps and peelings in the right bin so that they can be composted. Turkey carcass, sprout peelings and that bit of burnt stuffing no-one wants – it can all go in the brown food bin.
If you’ve bought or received electrical gadgets or toys for Christmas, the Council is reminding you not to put any dead batteries in the bin. Many shops have old battery collection points or bring them to the Council’s recycling centre on your next visit.
If you have received electrical goods, furniture or new clothes as gifts, or have been splashing out in the sales, remember to recycle your old gear. Bring them to one of the Council’s recycling centres or donate them to a good cause. There are recycling banks taking these items across the county.
Councillor Gareth Roberts, Gwynedd Council’s Senior Environment Portfolio Leader, said: “We are delighted that recycling and composting rates in Gwynedd are higher than ever before – by now 46% of the waste produced by Gwynedd households is reused, recycled or composted.
“This is a significant contribution towards the quality of the local environment as less waste than ever is sent to be buried in landfill sites and less methane escapes into the atmosphere.
“This would not be possible without people’s efforts to use their blue recycling box and brown bins for food waste. It’s important that everyone keeps at it as we will need to compost and recycle 52% of our waste by 2013 and 70% by 2025 so that we meet the targets set by the Welsh Government.”
For more information about Gwynedd Council’s recycling and composting service, or to find out where your nearest recycling centre or bank is, telephone 01766 771000 or visit the website www.gwynedd.gov.uk/recycling
