News
Twelve days of a green christmas
This feature was added on 15th December 2006
Hertfordshire's WasteAware Partnership is wishing residents a Green Christmas this year, and encouraging them to follow their tips for an environmentally friendly festive season.
Hertfordshire County Council and the ten district councils who make up the WasteAware Partnership have come up with their own version of the 'Twelve Days of Christmas', which gives information about reducing the amount of waste created and recycling as much as possible.
'A huge amount of waste is produced over the Christmas period and we want Hertfordshire residents to think about ways they can reduce the amount of waste they create, and encourage people to recycle as much of their waste as possible,' said County Councillor Derrick Ashley, Executive Member for Planning, Partnerships and Waste.
'While we particularly want people to recycle during the Christmas period, it's equally important that this continues all year round. Waste disposal is becoming more and more difficult, so we urge everyone to make a new year's resolution to produce less waste and recycle more.'
Household Waste Recycling Centres in Hertfordshire will be open as normal over the Christmas period, with the exception of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day when they will be closed.
Hertfordshire has a target to be recycling half of all household waste by 2012 and also to reduce the total amount of waste produced. Consultation will start early in the new year to gauge the public's views on these targets and the strategy for dealing with residual waste.
Follow the twelve steps to a green Christmas
On the first day of Christmas use your kerbside collection service to recycle as much of your rubbish as possible. It is estimated we will create more than three million tonnes of rubbish this Christmas in Britain. More than half of this could be recycled, so please log on to www.wasteaware.org.uk and find details of your nearest recycling facility in Hertfordshire, or recycle using the doorstep collection provided by your local council.
On the second day of Christmas buy your festive food in packaging that can be recycled easily in your area
On the third day of Christmas, buy unique presents using recycled materials. Recycled Christmas gift ideas can be found at www.recyclenow.com
On the fourth day of Christmas, buy rechargeable batteries for all your children's toys and electrical goods and help save on the millions of batteries that go to landfill each year.
On the fifth day of Christmas consider buying a gift that will last the whole year e.g. sponsoring an animal, a subscription to a magazine or membership of a club or organisation.
On the sixth day of Christmas use your vegetable peelings to make garden compost. It is great for the garden. Start your own compost heap this Christmas with all your vegetable peelings from Christmas dinner and by next Christmas, you'll have free nutritious compost to help make your garden bloom.
On the seventh day of Christmas, use your own crockery and cutlery and avoid using paper plates, serviettes and plastic cups, knives and forks if you are planning a party
On the eighth day of Christmas, make a new year's resolution to recycle more waste, more often. Kerbside collection, local recycling banks and Household Waste Recycling Centres make recycling easier than ever, so there's a good chance that you'll stick to it.
On the ninth day of Christmas, clear out your wardrobe and donate your old clothes. Take any unwanted clothes to a textile collection point or your local charity shop.
On the tenth day of Christmas, make space for your children's new toys by taking the old ones to a local charity shop or nursery/after school club.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, recycle your Christmas tree. Over eight million real Christmas trees will be bought this year, most of which will be thrown away. Lots of Household Waste Recycling Centres offer recycling facilities for real Christmas trees.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, recycle your Christmas cards and support the Woodland Trust scheme. Take your cards to your local Tesco, WHSmith or TK Maxx who will send the cards on to be recycled.