'Make Christmas green' (From Witney Gazette)

'Make Christmas green'

3:27pm Thursday 7th December 2006 in Witney By Rosalind Miles

INSTEAD of dreaming of a white Christmas, West Oxfordshire District Council is urging people to think green - and recycle the extra waste created by the festive season.

s=8Three million tonnes of extra waste will be generated in Britain over the Christmas period. In a bid to minimise waste and increase recycling in the county, the district council is sending out a clear Christmas sack to every household in the district. It will hold one recyclable material - either all paper, or all plastics, or all cards.

Residents can use their black recycling boxes for glass as normal.

The clear Christmas sacks will be collected at the same time as recycling boxes on the Christmas collection date.

People who recycle also have the chance to enter a free prize draw to win £50 .

David Harvey, district council cabinet member for the environment, said: "If all that extra three million tonnes of waste goes to landfill, useful resources and energy will be lost forever. That is why we are sending out this special Christmas message to all residents to think before they reach for the waste bin this year, and offering this £50 incentive to really make people think about what they can recycle."

To enter the prize draw people need to pledge online to recycle all that they can in their black recycling box via the council website, www.westoxon.gov.uk, or by calling 01993 861020.

Five lucky winners will each receive £50, subject to a random spot check of their waste bin and recycling boxes during January or February, to ensure recycling is taking place.

Sacks will also be handed out, along with low-energy light bulbs and waste reduction packs, at Christmas waste roadshows, organised by the council in conjunction with Witney-based energy advice centre TVEC.