Packing your Christmas away with the R-Word

Recycle your cards with the Woodland Trust.

It's the 1st of January, the beginning of New Year's Day and and the start of a whole new decade. And if you're anything like me, you'll be packing away all your decorations and other Christmas gubbins before the day is out.

So as you can see, with lots to do today, I won't have much time to spend on this blog, so I'm attempting to deliver this blog post in the style of Gordon Ramsay and The F-Word, fast and at breakneck speed but without the swearing.

So off we go! Let's kick off with the New Year's Day special of The R-Word, helping you get rid of your Christmas stuff without creating much waste. Don't clear up your Christmas without checking these tips.


Christmas Cards:

a) Great for gift-tags and thank you cards . Grab scissors, cut and keep for reuse!

b) Recycle rest in your bin

c) Or go to the shops: WH Smith, T.K. Maxx, or M&S. Find The Woodland Trust recycling box. Drop cards through hole! The charity earns recycling credits for all cards collected.

c) Go to computer. Type www.thewoodlandtrust.org.uk. Vote for where trees should be planted.


Wrapping Paper

a) Good condition? Keep. Store. Reuse.

b) Plain brown paper? Scrunch. Compost.

c) Recycle rest! But check for shiny bits and recycling advice. Some council bins won't like it!

d) In Suffolk? Foiled paper's okay in household recycling bins.



Christmas Trees:

First hug tree

a) Hugs you back? It's real. Bung in car and take it for shredding. HWRC or local collection sites. Alternatively chop, slice and put in garden waste bin.

b) Tree collapses in half or pokes you in the eye with half-naked metal branch? It's fake. Grab scissors, duck tape and mend. Alternatively, bung in car. Drive to HWRC. Find metal recycling in.


Broken Christmas Lights!

a) Get new fuse. Unscrew. Replace.

b) Switch on.

c) No glimmer. Lights. Boogered

Few stores now sell replacement bulbs! Experienced this? Oh yes. Me too!

d) HWRC. Recycle with WEEE!

e) Next Christmas. Shops. Buy LEDs. Or check Freecycle's offered ads.


Broken toys.

Already?

a) It's a new toy? Grab bag. Shops. Return!

b) Old plastic toy? Grab scissors, duck tape & mend.

c) Impossible to mend and too dangerous to use? Bin

d) If it's electronic: Grab screwdriver. Unscrew. Rescue Batteries. HWRC. Recycle old toy with WEEE.


Gift Cards

Let them rest until they're ready to be used. Hit the high street. Use card then keep. Top up with extra cash. Treat a friend!



New Year's Resolutions

Don't recycle old ones. Try something new instead.

Here's a few for you to wrap your head around:

1. Take bin. Look at rubbish. Reduce by 50%. Recycle. Compost.
2. Check fridge. Find old food. Chop. Cook. Eat.
3. Need ideas. Check www.lovefoodhatewaste.com.
4. Recycle bottles. But wait. Check hangover first. If head's too heavy. Let it rest until tomorrow. Then do it!
5. Grab a carton. Rinse with water. Jump. Flatten. Find carton recycling bin. Drop it in!
6. Grab an old bag. Go shopping. Buy loose!
7. Want kitchen towel? Give it up. Look for cleaning cloths. Buy instead!
8. Forget old habits. Consider alternatives. Think resuable.
9 . Become a groupie. A recycling groupie. Get computer. Visit www.recylenow.com. Type in your postcode. Then recycle. Live in Suffolk? Go to www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk too!
10. Live elsewhere? Ring your council!

And that's it! Job Done! Relax.

Grab bottle, pour drink and celebrate.



Well I hope you've enjoyed the posts this week. They have been put together to support the daily recycling slot at BBC Radio Suffolk, where I've been discussing festive rubbish with Rob Dunger each morning.

If you've missed them and want to catch up. Here's a summary, with relevant links.

28th December: There are more ways than one to avoid food waste: Top tips about using up leftovers and other ways of reducing the waste that you throw in the bins.

29th December: Making the most of that unwanted present: How to pass things on in a guilt-free way.

30th December: Avoiding Rubbish at the Sales...and using the sales to avoid rubbish.

31st December: Happy New Year - It's party time: Celebrating recycling with ideas for coping with the aftermath of the party.

And if you want to find out what celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay actually does with his leftovers then check out this old article from the Noughties archives.

So Happy New Year everyone and happy bin slimming too!

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Latest News: Thanks to a great idea by the lovely blogger Nixdminx, I will be publishing a carnival on the 7th January highlighting actions that other people have taken to reduce their waste this Christmas. So if you've got a blogpost about anything to do withChristmas recycling, using up leftovers or ideas that you've had for next year, then send me the link as I would love to promote your post. Drop an email to karen(at)therubbishdiet(dot)co(dot)uk or send a direct message to @therubbishdiet on Twitter.

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