Hackney Council is encouraging residents to lighten the load in their waste bins this Christmas and recycle as much as they can through the usual recycling services.

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. This year, with the Council’s expansion of recycling to include even more materials, it’s never been easier for residents to do their bit to help reduce waste in Hackney.

Cardboard boxes left over from presents, empty jars of cranberry sauce and the foil from your turkey, as well as Christmas cards and trees, can all be recycled.

If you live in a street level property you simply need to place appropriate materials into your green box as usual. Similarly, those residents who live on an estate or in a high rise property can place materials into the recycling bins usually found near entrances.

Christmas cards can be recycled in the Green Box collection service, or at recycling banks on estates. The Woodland Trust also runs a Christmas card recycling scheme, look out for the collection bins around Hackney in January.

For those residents who live in street level properties and use the Blue Bin service for kitchen scraps, leftover food can also be deposited in the Bin and used to produce compost that is bought back to Hackney and used in our parks and green spaces. Or, why not have a go at creating new delicious meals from your leftovers with our Food Lovers’ Cookbook? Free copies are available for download on the Council s website or by contacting the recycling hotline.

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 we will ensure it is recycled.

Alternatively, if you do not use the Brown Bin service, or you live on an estate or in a high rise property, please take your Christmas tree to Millfields Waste Depot between 28 December and 15 January as it will not be collected if left outside. However, you can arrange for your Christmas tree to be collected for recycling using the Council’s online Bulky Waste collection service.

Councillor Alan Laing, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “With so many recycling services available to residents in Hackney, we can all do our bit to reduce waste this Christmas. By recycling as much as you can you’ll be doing something positive to help improve the environment and your community, while supporting the Council’s commitment to make Hackney a cleaner and greener borough. Why not make a New Year’s resolution and pledge to recycle more in 2010?”

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