2006 was a bumper year for recycling in Hampshire (including the unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton) with the latest half yearly performance figures revealing a further increase to 35%. Please keep up the good work and recycle all you can over the festive period. Here are a few suggestions to help you remember just how much you can recycle.

When you’ve unwrapped all your presents on Christmas day, don’t forget to save all the gift bags and boxes so they can be used again next year. Gift wrap cannot be recycled so please put it in your rubbish bin. Gift wrap is often made of poor quality paper and can be layered with foil and plastic or covered in sticky tape and ribbons, all of which makes it unsuitable for recycling. Any cardboard boxes left over from presents can be recycled through your kerbside recycling collection but please remember to break up any large boxes first.

At the end of the day, you may find yourself surrounded by empty drinks bottles! Some 14 million glass bottles will be opened in Hampshire over Christmas so remember to recycle yours at your local bottle bank. Any plastic bottles from squash and fizzy drinks can also be recycled through your kerbside recycling collection but please take the tops off first.

Almost a quarter of a million real Christmas trees will be decorated in Hampshire this year. When you take yours down, take it to be composted at your local household waste recycling centre, most of which are open from 8am-4pm every day in the Winter (except 25, 26 December and 1 January). Many district councils also offer a collection service or set up local collection points. Please contact them for details.

Make the most of your kerbside recycling collection over Christmas. It’s an easy way to recycle all your TV listings, magazines and envelopes from Christmas cards as well as cardboard boxes, plastic bottles and food and drinks cans. Should you receive any unwanted gifts, donate them to a charity shop and give somebody else the chance to use them rather than throwing them away.

For further information, please contact Sarette Martin on 01962 846028 or e-mail sarette.martin@hants.gov.uk.