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Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Reduce festive waste with Nottinghamshire’s free Recycling Checker

The festive season is anticipated to generate 30% more waste than any other time of the year.

This Christmas, Nottinghamshire residents are urged to embrace the festive spirit by recycling right and reducing waste.

Nottinghamshire County Council and Veolia, the county’s recycling and waste partner, are asking residents to make sure they recycle right this Christmas by using the council’s free Recycling Checker.

In the UK alone, there will be enough discarded wrapping paper to reach to the moon and a staggering 150 million cards will be sent, with many unable to be recycled, according to WRAP.

Nottinghamshire County Council’s Recycling Checker is easy to use – residents simply need to enter their postcode and the item they want to recycle. The app will then guide them on which bin to use or whether they need to take it to one of the 12 recycling centres across the county.

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Christmas trees and unwanted or broken electrical items (including Christmas tree lights) are all accepted at the county’s recycling centres. Residents can recycle items such as drinks cans, food tins, aerosols, paper, cardboard, yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and plastic bottles with their tops attached in their recycling bin at home – as long as they are empty, clean and loose.

Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We know that as a county we are going to generate lots of extra rubbish over the Christmas period, so we want to make it easy for residents to recycle as much as possible. If you have any doubts over which bin you should use for your festive waste, just use the free Recycling Checker to find out. By making the effort to recycle right this Christmas we can give the planet one of the best gifts of all!”

Steven Newman, General Manager for Veolia Nottinghamshire said: “At Christmas time, we all tend to create more waste than usual. We must pause to consider how we can reduce, reuse and recycle this festive season. Small acts such as using the free Recycling Checker to ‘check before you chuck’ can have a big impact and can help us all to celebrate Christmas more sustainably in Nottinghamshire.”

Here are the council and Veolia’s top five tips for recycling right this Christmas:

1. Recycle that cardboard!

A lot of Christmas gifts will be delivered in recyclable cardboard packaging. It’s estimated that we could make a cardboard motorway stretching from Nottinghamshire to Lapland and back – 111 times – with all the card packaging we use at Christmas. Make sure you flatten cardboard and put it in your recycling bin to keep it clean and dry.  Place the other packaging found inside, such as bubble wrap and polystyrene in your general waste bin.

2. Scrunch test your wrapping paper!

Did you know, paper or Christmas cards with glitter and/or foil can’t be recycled? The scrunch test is a helpful way to test whether your Christmas wrapping paper is recyclable. Scrunch the paper in your hand and if it stays in a ball, it can be put into the recycling bin. Please remember to remove sticky tape, ribbons, bows and other adornments before sticking it in the recycling bin.

3. Don’t bin the festive fairy lights!

Fairy lights and other electronic Christmas decorations may be classed as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). These items must not be put in bins at home but disposed of at designated sites such as Nottinghamshire’s recycling centres.

4. Don’t be a turkey this Christmas

Who doesn’t love leftovers? Christmas dinner stays fresh for at least a few days after the big event and for months or more if you put it in the freezer. You can freeze cooked turkey and use it to make a new meal; if you’re sick of turkey and cranberry sandwiches, why not be creative and try making a turkey curry?

5. Check batteries are not in the bin!

Hidden batteries in electricals or packaging can start fires when crushed in recycling and rubbish lorries so must not be placed in waste bins at home. Make sure you recycle them separately at one of the county’s 12 recycling centres.

Recycle right this Christmas – join us in downloading the free MyNotts App and use the Recycling Checker on the app to tell you exactly what you can recycle in your area – www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/recyclingchecker

All 12 recycling centres across Nottinghamshire will be open throughout December from 8am until 4pm. All the centres are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Full information on the wide range of items that can be taken to the sites, can be found on the County Council website: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/recycling

Please also ensure to check your local Borough or District Council arrangements for Christmas and New Year kerbside recycling and waste collection dates.

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