Published: 08/12/2021
COPELAND residents are being asked to reduce, reuse and recycle this festive season.
There is always a large increase in recycling collected at Christmas, but the council is urging residents to reduce and reuse too – to create less waste in the first place.
Copeland’s Recycling Officer, Jan Boniface, said: “Christmas is the perfect time to have a go at upcycling, regifting, and crafting decorations from things that might otherwise go to waste.
“There is a host of tips on how to do this, many of them specially about Christmas, on our website.
“Making Christmas crackers, from waste card and paper, can be a great family activity, and each one can be personalised with recycled items.
“You can also make some very impressive festive decorations with materials that might go in your bin or recycle box. The internet has lots of videos on exactly how to do it.
“We all indulge at Christmas, but it’s a good time to assess how much we consume, and whether there are greener alternatives – could you make a family plan to buy fewer gifts? Replace them with experiences, home-made items or vouchers for time spent together doing something special.
“Do you have presents from last year that you didn’t use? Why not regift if you know someone who would like them, or donate to a charitable cause? And plan ahead – put aside any unwanted gifts from this year for 2022. Go to www.copeland.gov.uk for more inspiration.”
The council hopes people will recycle all the usual things too – Christmas cards, bottles, cans, foil from the turkey, and card from toy packaging – in their kerbside containers or at a recycling site.
Like most councils, Copeland won’t be collecting wrapping paper with your festive recycling this year. The council’s Portfolio Holder for Recycling and Waste, Coun Steve Morgan, said: “This has been the case for a few years. We found that the collections were simply too contaminated with glittery, foiled or plasticised paper, and our recycling partner was unable to accept them.”
Even paper that looks relatively ‘normal’ can have these elements in it, so the council is asking that people don’t put any wrapping paper at all in their recycling boxes, and put it in their household waste bin instead.
The council is also asking people not to put out more card than will fit in their white bag. “This is to encourage people to flatten boxes and tear up large pieces of card,” said Coun Morgan. “It means our lorries have to make fewer stops to unload, and collections run more smoothly."
Residents can find out more about how to reduce, reuse and recycle at www.copeland.gov.uk. They can also see their waste collection calendar there.
Here are Copeland’s top ten tips for Christmas recycling:
*Only recycle gift bags if they are made of plain paper or card - a foil or glittery finish can't be recycled. Sturdy ones can be reused several times.
*If you have brown paper from parcels, please include it with your card recycling (not paper).
*Online delivery boxes can also be taken to your nearest bring site - remember to take out any polystyrene and packing tape, and flatten it down as much as possible.
*Christmas cards - glitter and foil can't be recycled so tear off that part as well as any batteries or badges.
*Cans and bottles from the festivities can of course be recycled. Keep the metal tops on your bottles as these will be recycled too
*Aluminium food trays can be recycled, just give them a rinse.
*Those big biscuit tins and sweetie tubs can be added to your recycling
*The foil from your turkey can be put in your black box with cans, or taken to a bring site. Just make sure it's scrunched into a ball so that it doesn't blow away.
*Christmas trees - the most environmentally-friendly option is to reuse an artificial tree, but if you have a real one, cut it up and add it to your brown garden bin for when collections restart in the spring. Or why not buy a living one and move it outside after Christmas?
*Remember you can’t recycle wrapping paper, sticky tape, curling ribbon or stick-on bows.
