Recycle your unwanted Christmas gifts
The Warwickshire Waste Partnership is urging residents in Warwickshire to recycle any unwanted Christmas gifts.
Each Christmas many receive presents that are either unwanted or duplicates. Rather than letting them gather dust or ending up in the bin, why not give your gifts a home instead?
This year each person has spent an average of £425 on Christmas presents - more than £90 of this will be spent on unwanted gifts adding to the waste stream. If you are a victim of a surplus present, why not offer it to someone else by using the websites Community Freebay or Freegle, or take them along to your local charity shop?
Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment and Economy and chair of the Warwickshire Waste Partnership, said: “At Christmas many people receive gifts which they may not have a use for. Instead of putting them in the bin, I encourage people to recycle them by taking them along to a charity shop or use community websites to give them away for free.
“On behalf of the Warwickshire Waste Partnership, I hope that everyone has a made a New Year’s Resolution for 2011 to throw away less this year and recycle and re-use more.”
Log onto http://www.communityfreebay.co.uk or http://www.freegle.org.uk . These websites allow you to pass on unwanted things to local people that can put them to good use. The websites allow you to contact people by email to give or receive free things. Once you’ve made the link, it is then up to you to arrange collection/delivery with the other person.
If you have any questions about recycling and disposal please contact the Waste Management Team at WCC on tel: 01926 412593 or email waste@warwickshire.gov.uk.
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Notes for editors
· For interview requests please contact Emily Martin or Caroline Faulkner, Waste Projects Officer, 01926 418088.