RECYCLING
Watch
your waste
this Christmas
An indulgent festive season can be bad for your waist line, but it is not always a
great thing for the environment either. Households across the country waste more
food over Christmas than at any other time of the year. Dan Stephens reports.
W
e also see a big
increase in other things
being chucked away,
like wrapping and
packaging – much of which can be
saved or recycled.
Councillor Mik Sabiers, the council’s
cabinet member for environment
and highways, said: “Nationally, we
generate around roughly 30% more
waste over Christmas – but the good
news is that most of it can be recycled.
I encourage local people to make the
most of their blue and green bins this
holiday season.”
SANTA’S NICE LIST
n Recycle wrapping paper but remove
ribbons, bows etc first. And do not
recycle glittery cards or paper
n Use reusable plates and cups,
and decorations
n Recycle your leftover food; or find a
recipe to use any extra vegetables or meat
n Recycle foil and cans – recycling
just six foil mince pie cases can save
enough energy to power a TV long
enough to watch the EastEnders
Christmas special. Use the ‘scrunch
test’ on any ‘foil’ packing - if it stays
scrunched, recycle it
n Use rechargeable batteries. And
recycle old batteries (put them in a
bag on top of your blue wheelie bin).
SANTA’S NAUGHTY LIST
n Did you know 300,000 tonnes
of cards is sent in the UK at
Christmas? It is enough to
cover a return journey from
Ealing to Lapland 100
times. Why not consider
e-cards instead?
n Almost 14,000
tonnes of glass is
thrown out – the
equivalent weight of
70,000 reindeer
n Around 500 tonnes of old Christmas
tree lights are discarded each year. If
they work, you can donate them to
charity; if they are beyond repair you
should recycle them in the same way
as electric appliances.
CHANGES TO COLLECTIONS
Your normal rubbish and recycling
collection dates may change over the
Christmas and New Year period, see the
back page of this magazine for details
RECYCLE CHRISTMAS TREES
The council will be collecting
real Christmas trees for
recycling in January – and
there will also be drop-
off points in local open
spaces for you to take
your trees to. Visit
ealingnewsextra.co.uk/
features/trees-2018 for
more details.
around ealing December 2018
15