DETR urges households to recycle old Christmas cards and trees

According to the DETR, households across the country could be throwing away 2.5 billion Christmas and New Year cards and six million Christmas trees, creating over 250,000 tonnes of extra rubbish. Although we will probably reuse our Christmas decoration for years, people in the UK are less inclined to think of alternatives to the dustbin for old cards and trees, says the DETR, pointing out that last year we recycled less than 10% of cards, and just one in eight Christmas trees.

“We tend to think of Christmas cards and trees as disposable items, but we can unwittingly create mountains of unnecessary waste by not thinking before we throw them away,” said Michaela Strachan, spokesperson for the DETR’s ‘are you doing your bit?’ campaign. “Recycling helps the environment by reducing the need for landfill, in turn reducing methane emissions which helps stop global warming. Simply taking advantage of schemes such as those offered by Boots, IKEA, Homebase and local councils to recycle your Christmas cards and trees can make such a difference.”

Not everyone is impressed with the seasonal initiative. “Behind their spin, Labour are failing to tackle the problem of mounting household waste,” said Damian Green MP, Conservative Spokesman for the Environment. “Since they were elected, the average household produces an extra kilogram and a half of waste per week. Rather than adding to the waste problem with mountains of gimmicky government press releases, Labour should adopt Conservative proposals to increase recycling.”

For more information about how you can ‘do your bit’ for the environment, ring 0345 868686 or visit the website.