Maidenhead & Windsor

Having a green Christmas doesn't mean being a Scrooge. That's the seasonal message from the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough as it reminds residents to keep cutting waste over the festive period.

Cllr Phil Bicknell, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead public protection, said: "With a bit of thought, we can have the best of both worlds – do our bit for the environment and still have a great time.

"The council's waste arrangements make it really easy to recycle and we all need to redouble our good green habits so that we add a little as possible to the 3m tonnes of waste generated by the UK over the Christmas and New Year period.

"By following simple guidelines we can make this our greenest Christmas ever."

12 Tips for a green Christmas
1. Make your own Christmas decorations – hang up old CDs and bake some gingerbread men to hang on the tree.
2. Decorate old light bulbs with paint and glitter to hang up.
3. Avoid buying goods with unnecessary packaging. Say 'no' to unwanted bags too.
4. Compost used holly and ivy.
5. Wrap presents in fabric that can be used again! Gift tags can be made from old greeting cards.
6. Buy presents from (and donate unwanted presents to) your local charity shop.
7. Having a party? Use re-useable cutlery and crockery instead of plastics and paper.
8. Put Christmas cards, wrapping paper (not foil) and cardboard in your black recycling box. Alternatively support the Woodland Trust card recycling scheme at WH Smith, Tesco, TK Maxx and Marks & Spencer (2 – 31 January 2009).
9. Buy a UK-grown real Christmas tree with roots so that it can be planted in your garden or kept in a pot for next year.
10. Not sure what to buy? Why not give a gift voucher instead of buying an unwanted gift.
11. How about buying a gift for the whole year, such as sponsoring an animal or dedicating a tree to a friend. The Royal Borough now runs a sponsor-a-tree-scheme – to find out more call 01628 796252, email outdoor.facilities@rbwm.gov.uk or visit www.rbwm.gov.uk
12. Put glass bottles, tin cans and plastic bottles in your purple recycling box.

Composting makes sense after Christmas lunch
The traditional Christmas lunch results in a huge amount of raw vegetable waste across the country – the shells of approximately 240 million brussels sprouts and the peelings of 105 million potatoes, 20 million parsnips and 30 million carrots – all great for turning into compost that will be ready for the garden in the summer.

Also good for composting are egg shells from eggnog, cardboard tubes from aluminium foil, Christmas tree needles. Even credit/debit card bills can be saved for composting after they've been paid and shredded.

Christmas tree recycling
The council is running 23 collection points for real Christmas trees after Twelfth night.

Sites will be open from Friday 2 January to Friday 16 January:
ASCOT - The Grange Car Park, High Street; Gainsborough Drive
BRAY - The Car Park, High Street, Bray
DATCHET - Recreation Ground, Green Lane
ETON - Car Park, Meadow Lane
ETON WICK - Recreation Ground Car Park, Haywards Mead
HOLYPORT - Youth Club Next to Memorial Hall, Moneyrow Green
HURLEY - Car Park, High Street
KNOWL HILL - Village Hall off Bath Road
MAIDENHEAD - Braywick Civic Amenity Site, Stafferton Way; Ockwells Park, Ockwells Road; Boulters Lock Car Park, Ray Mead Road
OLD WINDSOR - Church Road Allotments; Recreation Ground, Robin Willis Way
SOUTH ASCOT - Recreation Ground Car Park, Victoria Road
SUNNINGDALE - Broomhall Recreation Ground, Broomhall Lane
SUNNINGHILL - Victory Fields Recreation Ground, London Road
WINDSOR - Clewer Memorial Recreation Ground, Dedworth Road; Foster Avenue Open Space

GARDEN CENTRES

Wyevale Country Garden, Dedworth Road, Windsor
Wyevale Country Garden, Wraysbury Road, Wraysbury
Squires, Maidenhead Road, Windsor
Stubbings Nursery, Henley Road, Maidenhead

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead