Have a Happy Green Christmas

Christmas needn’t be bad for the environment – you can recycle lots of stuff without spoiling your seasonal merriment.

It is estimated that more than three million tonnes of rubbish is created in Britain over the festive period, half of which can be recycled.

Remember you can give to charity any unwanted gifts or offer them on Hackney Freecycle. And check out ways to use up your leftovers with top chefs at Love Food, Hate Waste.

You can also reduce waste this Christmas and recycle as much as you can through the Council’s usual recycling services.

If you buy one of the eight million real Christmas trees that will be purchased this year and live in a street level property that uses the Brown Bin collection service for garden waste, you can place your Christmas tree next to your Brown Bin on your collection day after the festivities are over, and the Council will collect it for recycling.

Alternatively, if you do not use the Brown Bin service, or you live on an estate or in a high rise property, you can take your Christmas tree to Millfields Waste Depot between 28 December and 15 January as it will not be collected if left outside.

Otherwise, you can arrange for your Christmas tree to be collected for recycling using the Council’s online Bulky Waste collection service.

More information on what and how you can recycle in Hackney this Christmas here, or call the Recycling Hotline on 020 8356 6688; or email: recycling@hackney.gov.uk

The Council offers a free removal service for bulky items and will remove up to five items per collection, and will make up to four collections per household each year. More information here – click on bulky collection.