PEOPLE in West Devon are being urged to reduce, re-use and recycle their festive waste as part of a countywide campaign.
Councils in Devon are encouraging residents to sort out items that can be recycled — drinks cans, bottles, packaging — and take them to the nearest recycling point.
Over the Christmas and New Year period, bins fill up with 30% more bottles and aluminium cans, contributing to more than three million tonnes of rubbish.
And an estimated one billion Christmas cards could end up in dustbins across the UK. WH Smith and Tesco are offering a facility for recycling cards to help the Woodland Trust reduce waste and create new areas of forest.
More than six million trees were bought last Christmas in the UK, most of which were thrown out after December, creating 9,000 tonnes of additional rubbish.
Everybody who recycles their tree for composting can enter a prize draw to win one of three garden waste shredders.
For more information on recycling and collection services, visit http://www.recycledevon.org.uk">www.recycledevon.org.uk or call 0845 450 2477.