Don’t forget to recycle this Christmas

RESIDENTS in Carmarthenshire are being reminded to use their green bins and blue bags this Christmas.

As Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fall on a Saturday this year, there are no changes to refuse/recycling collections. This means your waste will be collected on its usual day throughout the festive period.

With all the eating, drinking and merry-making we tend to produce a lot more rubbish at this time of the year which is why it’s more important than ever to recycle our waste properly.

Unavoidable Christmas food waste such as turkey bones, nutshells and tangerine peel should go in your green bin so that it can be treated and made into compost, rather than mixed up with black bag rubbish which is then sent to landfill causing harm to the environment.

Remember paper, including Christmas cards and wrapping paper (although not foil wrapping paper) can go in your blue bag along with cardboard, cans and plastic. From the second week of January you can also take your Christmas cards along to any M&S or TK Maxx store where the Woodland Trust will recycle them to raise money to plant more trees.

Waste minimisation/recycling officer Karen McNeil said: “We can all enjoy the festive season without it costing the earth. People traditionally produce a lot more waste during the Christmas holidays, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With a little thought, we can stretch our festive budget and limit the impact we have by reducing our waste as much as possible, reusing instead of always buying new and recycling everything we can.”

Carmarthenshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres are open as usual over the festive period except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

For tips on how you can reduce your waste this Christmas visit www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk

For all other queries please contact Carmarthenshire Direct on 01267 234567.