FREE energy-saving lightbulbs will be given away in West Devon tomorrow (Friday), to mark World Environment Day.

The give-away has been organised by West Devon Borough Council. There will also be an opportunity for residents to enter a competition to win a compost bin and advisors will be available to chat about recycling and energy efficiency.

Residents can collect free light bulbs and enter the competition at West Devon Borough Council customer service centres in both Tavistock and Okehampton between 10am and 3pm.

This year's international World Environment day theme is 'Forests: Nature at your Service', which encourages us to protect trees and forests and highlights the global deforestation issue.

West Devon residents are already playing their part through their recycling efforts —particularly since the introduction of the Borough Council's new recycling and waste collection service.

Residents have recycled an amazing 1,675 tonnes of paper in the last 12 months, which is equivalent to saving approximately 25,000 trees.

Since the new collection service was introduced last autumn, recycling in the borough has risen to an average of 58% per month. 

World Environment Day was established by the United Nations in 1972 and is commemorated on June 5 every year. Organisations and individuals worldwide celebrate the day to draw attention to green concerns.

The aim of the day is to encourage people to live more environmentally friendly lives by doing what they can, such as recycling, composting or being energy efficient.