Help make this one a less wasteful season
WASTE officers are asking people to use their local recycling centre as much as possible in the New Year.
A lot of extra waste tends to be created at this time of the year so people are being asked to remember to recycle cans, bottles, cardboard, electrical goods and real Christmas trees during and after the festive period.
The region’s 14 household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) accept all sorts of materials which can be deposited free by householders.
The centres are open every day of the year – except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day – from 8am until 5pm during winter.
Many items can be deposited, including cans, cardboard, garden waste (including real Christmas trees), glass jars and bottles, paper, large plastics, scrap metal (including metal artificial trees), textiles, toys and white goods.
All the centres accept electrical items.
Carl Beer, chief executive of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA), said: “A lot of waste is created at this time of the year so it’s a good chance to boost Merseyside’s recycling levels. Our recycling centres will happily accept the clutter of people’s packaging, bottles and cans - and we’d love your real Christmas trees.”
Jeff Sears, director of Veolia, which operates the centres, said: “Recycling centres will be open throughout the festive period - except New Year’s Day - so bring all your extra Christmas recycling.
“Don’t forget to flatten your cardboard boxes and remove all non-cardboard contents so they can be sent to be recycled into something new.”
Here are 10 tips for a cleaner Christmas:
Separate your waste before visiting your local recycling centre. This way you will be able to deposit things more easily and help reduce queues.
Flatten cardboard boxes before putting them in a recycling container – it will take up less room.
Remove any plastic wrapping and polystyrene before placing cardboard boxes into the correct container.
Plastic gift wrapping cannot be recycled. Similarly, don’t take plastic bags – try to reuse them as much as possible and next time you go shopping why not buy a bag for life?
Try to avoid putting recyclable items in your black “residual” bin bags. If you cut down on this then there will be less chance you will have excess black bin bags to take to your HWRC.
Take cans and bottles – an extra 500 million drinks are consumed during the festive period.
After Christmas you can bring your real Christmas trees to the centres where they will be shredded and turned into chippings for compost.
All recycling centres accept electrical items, so if you have anything that uses batteries or has a plug that you no longer use, take it along.
An excess of oil is used over the Christmas period, with turkey, roast potatoes and fry-ups on the agenda. Used cooking oil tanks can be found at each centre.
If there are items like toys, electrical items, brica-brac you don’t need after Christmas, you could donate them to the Emmaus Community Reuse Shop at the South Sefton recycling centre.
Why not make a New Year’s resolution to recycle more often?
Visit www.recycleright. org.uk for more information about what you can and can’t recycle.
Sefton’s HWRCs are at: Southport – Foul Lane, Scarisbrick New Road. Formby – Altcar Road. Sefton Meadows Sefton Lane, Maghull.
South Sefton – Irlam Road, Bootle. –