Christmas card recycling scheme to help UK tree planting

A Christmas card recycling scheme to help fund tree planting around the UK has been launched by the Woodland Trust and national campaign Recycle Now.

It hopes to gain a nature conservation boost from helping to tackle the mountain of extra waste created over the festive period. This includes an estimated extra three quarters of a million tonnes including over one billion Christmas cards generated by households in England alone.

 

 

The scheme requires people to hand in Christmas cards at participating WH Smith, Tesco, TK Maxx and Marks and Spencer stores, with money being raised through recycling credits.

This is the tenth year that the Woodland Trust has collected Christmas cards for recycling. Last year 93 million cards were collected, which enabled the charity to plant 22,000 trees. This year, it hopes a record 100 million cards can be recycled and 24,000 trees planted.

Sue Holden, The Woodland Trust's chief executive, said: ‘Everyone who supports the Trust by recycling their cards is helping us to plant thousands of trees throughout the UK.'

Actress Joanna Lumley, who supports the scheme, said Christmas is a great time for celebrations and spending time with family but this unfortunately results in more rubbish being created. ‘A simple way to help reduce this and help climate change at the same time is to recycle as much as possible and Christmas cards are one of the easiest items to keep out of our bins.'

Details information about recycling ideas including for Christmas cards can be accessed by visiting: www.woodland-trust.org.uk/cards or www.recyclenow.com.

31.12.07

Related Content

Link

• Recycle Now
• The Woodland Trust