Rotherham waste experts' recipe for a greener Christmas

USE UP your leftovers, recycle your cards and compost your Christmas tree.

That’s the recipe for an eco-friendly festive season which has been drawn up by the team behind Rotherham’s big waste plant.

Here are a few handy hints on how to have a green Christmas:

Food waste: The BDR Waste Partnership said food waste peaked over Christmas, with 23,000 tonnes of food are thrown away nationally each year over the festive season alone.

Tips to plan portions, make use of leftovers and shops smartly can be found at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.

Cardboard: As well as mountains of food, Christmas creates heaps of cardboard, which should be squashed and recycled in your green bin.

Christmas cards: greetings cards — we receive an average of 17 each — can be handed in at recycling points in shops and supermarkets.

Visit www.recyclenow.com and check out the postcode checker to find out where you can recycle them.

Christmas trees: Around eight million are sold every year, many of which end up being thrown away.   

Real Christmas trees can be composted at home or taken to a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC).  

Batteries: A staggering 189 million batteries are used over Christmas, many of these end up in our general waste.  

These can be recycled at HWRCs or your local supermarket - check at www.recyclenow.com/what-to-do-with/batteries.

Think about investing in rechargeable batteries — a modern rechargeable battery can be used up to 1,500 times over its lifetime.

Waste and recycling collections often change over the Christmas and New Year period, so check your collection calendar.

Household Waste Recycling Centres will be open every day from Saturday, December 22, to Monday, January 7, with the exception of: Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.