Have a green Christmas in Cumberland

Cumberland Council is encouraging local residents to have a green Christmas. They have put together some top tips on how and when to recycle over the festive season:

Party and Gift Tips

• Wrapping paper: Avoid shiny, plastic-coated wrapping paper as it’s not recyclable. Instead, try using brown paper or reuse old gift bags. Non-recyclable items such as foil or glitter wrapping paper, polystyrene, poly wrap, and cellophane should be disposed of in general waste bins.
• Consider reusing materials to make Christmas items e.g., crackers, decorations, cards, or using a reusable gift bag instead of wrapping paper.
• Portion planning: Use something like the Love Food Hate Waste portion planner to avoid over-catering and food waste.
• Save leftovers: Leftover party food like quiches and sausage rolls can be frozen for packed lunches later.

Gifts that Give Back

• Clear out before Christmas: Donate unwanted items to charity shops or give them away.
• Buy pre-loved or refurbished: Consider giving or receiving second-hand items or experience-based gifts instead of new ones.
• Eco-friendly packaging: Choose gifts with recyclable or reusable packaging. Gift bags can be used year after year!
• Homemade gifts: Why not make something special this year? Baked goods or handcrafted items add a personal touch.

Festive Food Tips

• Plan ahead: Make shopping lists to avoid over-buying and reduce food waste.
• Leftover recipes: Visit Love Food Hate Waste for great ideas on how to use up leftovers like turkey and ham.
• Recycle glass jars: From cranberry sauce to baby food jars, most glass containers can be recycled. Just give them a rinse - no need to remove labels, they’ll come off during recycling.

Home Composting in Winter

• Food waste: When hosting Christmas dinner or a festive party, don’t forget to compost uncooked fruit and veg scraps.
• Compost easily: Small paper and cardboard items like party hats and cracker tubes can be composted.
• Recycle your Christmas tree with Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland. Collections will take place between Thursday 9 January and Friday 10 January 2025. Tree collections can be booked by visiting www.just-helping.org.uk/register-tree

The council is also reminding residents that there may be some changes to the days they need to put out their waste and recycling over Christmas and New Year.

There will be no waste and kerbside recycling collections on Christmas Day (Wednesday 25 December), Boxing Day (Thursday 26 December), and New Year’s Day (Wednesday 1 January). Collections will take place on the following dates:

Collections will return to their normal schedule on Monday 6 January 2025. For further details, please visit the Cumberland Council website.

Residents can check collection dates at Check your collection dates for your waste and recycling | Cumberland Council

Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will remain open during the festive season except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day when they will be closed. Additionally, all HWRCs will close at 4 pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

The council is reminding residents about the convenient recycling bring sites located across the area, including those in supermarket car parks. While these bring sites will not have collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, or New Year’s Day, the council is committed to emptying these sites regularly.

Residents are kindly asked not to leave items on the ground if bins or cages are full and to return at another time once these have been emptied. To maintain the cleanliness and integrity of these areas, enforcement officers, with the aid of CCTV surveillance, will be diligently monitoring the bring sites, for any instances of fly-tipping.