Please ensure your refuse and recycling bins/bags are available for collection by 7.00am on the revised collection date. 

Please note normal arrangements will resume week commencing Monday 5th January 2009, except for the Garden Waste Collection Scheme, which is operating FOUR WEEKLY during the winter period.  Please refer to your collection day sticker for your next collections.

If you have not received a collection sticker, please contact Customer Services on the number below.

Christmas Tree Recycling

As in previous years, we will be providing a free Christmas tree collection service from households where the trees will be taken for composting.  Please note collections will take place from 05 January - 31 January 2009 only.  If you participate in the Garden Waste Collection Scheme (Brown bin), please ensure your Christmas tree is cut into pieces smaller than 1.2m (4ft) and place beside your brown bin on your scheduled collection day.  If you do not participate in the scheme, please contact Customer Services on 01756 706203 to arrange a collection.

Householders can also deliver christmas trees to the one of the Household Waste and Recycling Centres, free of charge for composting.

Christmas Cards

Special bins for recycling your old christmas cards will be in place across the UK mainland from 2nd to 31st January 2009 at selected retail outlets:

- Tesco supermarkets (including some Express stores)
- WH Smith (UK Mainland High Street stores only) 
- TK Maxx
-  Marks and Spencers (including selected M&S Simply Food stores)

These stores work with the Woodland Trust and the money generated from recycling is used by the charity to help protect native woodlands. Find out more on the Woodland Trust website.

Morrisons provide recycling facilities for your old christmas cards.  By recycling them at Morrisons, you can help raise much needed money to help good causes supported by the Salvation Army.

You can also recycle your cards by using your kerbside collection service or take to your local bring site or Household Waste and Recycling Centre.

Household Waste and Recycling Centres

Both Skipton and Settle Household Waste and Recycling Centres, will be open throughout the holiday period, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day.

Recycling centres are particularly busy over the holiday period.  If the bins are full don’t leave your waste nearby, hang on to it and the bins will be emptied as quickly as possible, making plenty of room for your recyclables in January.

Annually an estimated 3 million tonnes of Christmas waste is generated during the season of goodwill and last year a billion Christmas cards were sent.

It is estimated that 8,250 tonnes of wrapping paper is used at Christmas (Source: Friends of the Earth).  On average, it takes six mature trees to make a tonne of paper.

In the UK approximately 250 tonnes of Christmas trees that could have been recycled are simply thrown out after Christmas.

To help you reduce some of those wasteful statistics and be kinder to the environment this year, Craven District Council offers the following advice for you to consider:

1. Buy gift boxes or bags that can be re-used next year.

1. Re-use last year's wrapping paper and jazz it up with a colourful ribbon instead of using tape so that the paper can be used again and again!

1. Stick to tradition and put presents inside a Christmas stocking, which can be re-used (or worn!) next year.

1. Use young children's Christmas drawings from school as wrapping paper - grandparents will love it!!

1. Use last year's cards to make gift tags for this year by cutting out festive pictures or shapes.

1. Cut strips off last year's cards to make festive bookmarks.

1. Send e-cards to friends and family with computers - the sentiment is the same without the card.

1. Save money and the environment - donate the money you save on cards to a charity.

1. Or if you are buying cards, make sure you buy cards made from 100 per cent recycled paper.

Remember to recycle your Christmas cards and donate them to a Christmas card recycling scheme - you can find collection bins at selected retailers listed above.

General Tips

1. When shopping for your Christmas feast, use re-useable shopping bags or re-use old plastic bags.
2. Buy your fruit and veg loose, this will save on any packaging.
3. Bigger is better! Buy drinks in bigger bottles rather than small one.  One large bottle generates less waste than several smaller ones.
4. A third of your kitchen waste can be composted! Fill your kitchen caddy with those Christmas roast potato peelings, general vegetable and fruit peelings, teabags, paper towels and eggshells and add this good waste to your compost bin.
5. Christmas and New Year are perfect times for dinner parties and you may need to cook for a large number of people.  Use Love Food Hate Waste Perfect Portions planner for advice on how much ingrediants to use per person which will save you money and unnecessary food waste.  Please visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfectportions
6. Leftover party foods such as quiches and sausage rolls can be frozen over Christmas and used in packed lunches for when you return to work.

Gifts

1. Why not look for items containing recyclable material as gifts this Christmas!  A growing range of clothes, furniture and even electronic goods containing some recycled material will make perfect 'green' gifts this Christmas.
2. Look for gifts with packaging that can be reused or recycled easily.  Gifts bags can be reused again and again.  Some retailers are packing goods in tins that can be easily recycled or plastic containers that can be used for food storage at home.

Make a new year's resolution to recycle more stuff, more often!