Christmas

With Christmas just round the corner, now is a good time to familiarise yourself with what to do with all the seasonal items we make use of over the festive period. The additional items can cause some confusion, especially at such a busy time. We hope this article will add some clarity.

Many items can be kept for reuse and it’s good to reuse wherever possible. Not only does it save you money and time the following year, but keeping items in use for longer, protects our resources and reduces waste. It’s worth looking out for items that can be reused when you’re making your purchases or consider buying second-hand this year and give something preloved a fresh start with someone new. 

We tend to produce more of everything around Christmas time, including recycling and so it’s particularly important to ensure we recycle right. Remember that items for recycling should be clean and dry. Food waste, from the residue of the cranberry sauce jar, through to the actual turkey carcass, should never go in the recycling bin. 

Further guidance on what to recycle can be found at Recycle |Lesswaste.org.uk.  

We have put together a list of festive items to show which items can be reused or recycled: 

Visit Festive items, reuse, or recycle to see the full list. Further Christmas tips and information can be found by clicking the below button.  

Unfortunately, not everything can be reused or recycled, some things will need to go in the rubbish bin, but let’s do our best to keep these to a minimum. 

Please note - recycling in North West Leicestershire may differ. For more information, please visit Recycling and Waste|nwleics.gov.uk. 

 Winter composting tips

Want to keep your compost healthy over the winter months? Try these things…. 

• Empty the compost bin and harvest the compost ready for spring. Return any material that isn’t fully composted.

• Put the compost bin in an area that catches winter sun and preferably near the kitchen door for easy access.

• Insulate the bin to preserve heat.

• Continue to add annual weeds, kitchen peelings and coffee grounds.

• Aerating the bin will help keep it healthy.

National Tree Week

National Tree Week takes place every year between 23 November and 1 December to mark the start of the annual tree planting season. The Communities Network hosted an interactive tree-planting session on Thursday 5 December.  

Hosted at Leicestershire County Council’s County Hall by tree and woodland manager Adam Goodall, the workshop was an opportunity to learn about a range of tree-planting initiatives going on across Leicestershire and how to get involved. Attendees also had the opportunity to get their hands dirty and plant some trees outside County Hall, under Adam’s expert guidance.  

For more information about the Council’s tree planting pledge of 700,000 trees and how to take part, please click on the below button. 

In other news, a tree-mendous total of 5,400 trees and 25,000 hedge plants were given away by the council and Woodland Trust at an event at Beaumanor Hall during National Tree Week.

The popular partnership between Leicestershire County Council and the Woodland Trust offers free trees and hedges to anyone who lives in Leicestershire with suitable areas of land to plant – including community groups, parish councils and schools, landowners and farmers.

The successful applicants went along to Beaumanor Hall to collect their trees, which will help renew and restore existing woodland and vegetation, as well as replacing trees which have been affected by diseases such as ash dieback.

Waste team volunteering

Our Waste Policy and Strategy Team had a great day out volunteering at Beacon Hill. 

They had a busy day cutting and clearing the wildflower meadow areas in the native tree collection, with lots of raking and pitchforking.  

If your business would like to take part in corporate volunteer days, please get in touch with Country Parks via the button below. The country parks include many different habitats, each requiring careful management at various times of the year. 

Environmental scheme picks up national award at Kensington Palace 

A project to restore reedbeds and a water filtration system at a Leicestershire country park won the national Green Apple Environment Award. The water-cleaning scheme and landscape restoration at Donisthorpe Woodland Park was commissioned by Leicestershire County Council and carried out by civil engineering contractor King Industries. 

The award was presented to representatives from King Industries and Leicestershire County Council at a ceremony at Kensington Palace on 18 November. 

Give or Take

Most of us own more things than we really use – they have a tendency to accumulate over time. Every so often, it’s good to have a sort through, make some space and clear out items that we no longer want or use.  

Christmas is traditionally a time when we tend to fill our homes with extra things, additional purchases, Christmas gifts, etc, so the run-up to Christmas can be an ideal time for a quick sort through. 

Before throwing something out, consider whether another family member or friend would appreciate the item. Could it be given as a pre-loved gift instead of buying something new? Passing items on to someone else to enjoy is a great way of keeping something in use for longer.  

Swap or exchange events, like a Give or Take can provide a great opportunity for items to be rehomed and given a fresh start with someone new. Perhaps you’ve received a Christmas gift that isn’t quite you. Why not get together with others and hold your own swap event, we have a toolkit you can use to guide you through the process (click the button below). 

Weddings are expensive, but they don't have to cost the Earth

Environment Action Volunteer (EAV), Hayley, talks through her wedding day that took place this summer through a blog article, as she discusses how she prevented waste and made it as eco-friendly as possible to help others follow suit. 

To read the blog in full, click on the button below. 

New coffee pod collections at recycling and household waste sites  

Leicestershire County Council are working with Podback, a not-for-profit coffee pod recycling service, to introduce coffee, tea and hot chocolate pod collections at selected recycling and household waste sites.   

Collections will be trialled at Whetstone, Coalville and Mountsorrel recycling and household waste sites. Please remember to keep plastic and aluminium pods separate as they are recycled at different locations and to tip loose into the correct Podback container.  

More information on Leicestershire recycling and household waste sites and their opening times can be found by clicking the below button.

Now is a great time to cash in unused electricals  

It’s estimated that there are 880 million unused working electrical items gathering dust in UK homes; 31 per household with an average worth of over £1,304 and up to £6,331 if they were sold through re-selling sites such as Gumtree and eBay. 

Now is the perfect time to sell your unused electricals, or unwanted electrical Christmas gifts, to help your wallet beat the cash blues. You'll find advice on how to prepare your items for resale at

https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/sell-second-hand-electronics/  

Alternatively, unused working electricals can be donated to charities and reuse organisations. This can help reduce demand for raw materials, cut CO2 emissions, and support people in need. You can find a list of places accepting electrical donations at: https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/donate-electrical-goods/  

Non-working electricals which can’t be repaired, sold or donated should never be thrown in the bin. Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled. How to do so depends upon where you live: enter your postcode at: https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/ to find electrical recycling options near you.