It’s

not just your average Redland resident who is looking forward to an extended

break this Christmas (what with Christmas falling over the a weekend) but

council workers and crucially refuse and waste disposal workers so we are being

warned to be careful not to overload our bins.

 

Bristol

City Council has launched a campaign to encourage residents to ‘watch their

waste’ and avoid over-feeding their wheelie bin this Christmas. The UK throws away three million tonnes of waste at Christmas - including one billion

cards, 250 tonnes of Christmas trees, 4,500 tonnes of tin foil, 125,000 tonnes

of plastics wrapping, and 13,350 tonnes of glass - leading to a detrimental

amount of rubbish being sent to landfill and councils being left to foot the

bill for the extra cost of landfill tax.

“At

this time of year, people want to enjoy themselves and make the most of the

festive season, and every year we see the result of this with hundreds of extra

tonnes of waste,” says Gary Hopkins, cabinet member for strategic waste.  

“This is not only bad news for our environment, it costs thousands of pounds of

tax-payers money in landfill tax. 

“The ‘Watch your Waste’ campaign is a light-hearted way of reminding everyone

about the importance of not over-feeding your wheelie bin, and giving hints and

tips on how you can keep your waste down over Christmas and at the same time,

save yourself some much-needed cash.” 

The

Watch your Waste campaign features a cartoon wheelie bin being squeezed round

the middle with a tape measure. The character will appear on the council’s

website, giving advice to residents on how to reduce their waste and maximise

their recycling at home. While this will inevitably save the council money,

it’s one cost cutting measure you’d struggle to disagree with due to the

environmental benefits.

 

“There are so many ways residents can help to minimise their waste and get the

most out of the council’s recycling schemes, but they may not be aware of them

all,” added Councillor Hopkins.

 “We’re going to be running a number of targeted campaigns under the Watch

Your Waste banner to remind people about the various things they can recycle.

For example, we’re about to launch a prize draw to get people recycling their

small electrical and electronic gadgets, such as mobile phones, games consoles

and hair dryers. In January, there’ll be an advertising campaign to encourage

residents to recycle their old clothes and textiles. 

“We want to say a big thank you to Bristol residents for the efforts they

already make to reduce their waste and recycle, and ask them to please keep up

the good work throughout the festive period.”