Your rubbish bin desperately needs your help this Christmas! It needs to face the New Year with a healthy slim figure; so here are some tips to divert as much waste from it as possible:

• Use more imagination and less wrapping. Surprise your family and friends this Christmas by treating them to a spa pampering day, a new hairdo, a cookery course, a gym membership, a water rafting day out, concert tickets to see their favourite artist, or a meal in that restaurant they’ve been talking about going to ever since it opened…



• Buy recycled as much as you can: wrapping paper, gift bags, greeting cards, presents made from recycled or reclaimed materials, food and drink in recycled packaging, etc. This way you’ll be helping to conserve resources and support the whole recycling process by creating a higher demand for recycled products. Below are a few websites which specialise in recycled, ethical and environmentally friendly products.
  • http://www.recyclenow.com/shopping/index.html
  • http://www.naturalcollection.com/
  • http://ecotopia.co.uk/



• Send greeting e-cards: It’s e-asy and e-conomical! Up to one billion Christmas cards end up in bins across the UK, so why not give e-cards a try this year? Numerous websites offer Christmas e-cards including this site.



• Make room for your new presents by donating - or recycling your old ones. Donate your children’s unwanted toys to your local charity shop or recycling centre. Below are some useful sites for passing on reuseable items you no longer want.
  • http://www.freecycle.org/
  • http://www.recycle.co.uk/
  • http://www.free2collect.co.uk/



• Buy rechargeable batteries this Christmas for your children’s toys and your electrical goods. It’s much cheaper than disposables and you will help save on the millions of batteries that go to landfill each year.



• Say no to unwanted bags when doing your Christmas shopping. Every plastic bag takes 500 years or more to decay in a landfill site. Always use a re-usable shopping bag, cotton bag for life or re-use a carrier bag. You can get one free reuseable bag here



• Remember to compost your fruit and vegetable peelings this Christmas. You will get to make great garden fertiliser, absolutely free!. To see if you can get a reduced price compost bin in your district, click here.



• Get a wormery. These are great, as they can dispose of all your food waste including cooked meats and fish. They are particulary good if you don’t require compost, as all you’re left with is a concentrated liquid plant food ideal for house plants. Below are two Devon companies who specialise in this field.
  • http://www.westcountryworms.co.uk/
  • http://www.originalorganics.co.uk/



• Make sure you recycle your Christmas waste. Make use of your kerbside collection service and/or your local recycling points and centres, and recycle all the paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, tins, cans and glass bottles and jars that you use over the festive period including your christmas tree.



• Buy local products from shops or markets. Local products tend to have much less packaging and have less of an impact on the environment as they have not been transported large distances. Buying locally produced items also helps the local economy.



• You can also support the Woodland Trust by recycling Christmas cards at branches of TK Maxx, WHSmith, M&S and Tesco (excluding Metro and Express stores) during January 2008. All cards collected in store are recycled into new paper products, such as toilet tissue, kitchen roll and packaging materials.
  • http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/



• Finaly make a New Year’s resolution that you can easily keep this year. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle more stuff, more often!