Have a 'green' Christmas this year by recycling as much of your festive waste as possible

At this time of year, the more organised among us are busily writing Christmas cards and wrapping presents but most of us don't realise how much waste we create every Christmas.

Each year in the UK, we use enough wrapping paper to stretch around the equator nine times, or to the moon.

Creative alternatives to wrapping paper could include unusual paper or material, you have at home or even an attractive scarf, which could be reused during the cold winter weather.

Parcels can be fastened with string, ribbon or wools, which make it easy to re-use both the paper and ribbon.

The statistics for Christmas cards are rather surprising; every year, we throw away an astounding 1 billion Christmas cards. That’s 17 each for every person in the UK.

Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, Infrastructure, Waste and Recycling, Kevin Bentley said: "Essex residents are recycling more than ever and we encourage people to carry on over the festive period.

"Many items, including electrical goods, can be recycled at the recycling centres.

"So if you’re thinking of upgrading your gadgets or have broken devices cluttering up your cupboard take them to your local recycling centre or recycling bank."

Veolia’s Communications Manager for Essex, Claire Robson, said: “You could consider alternatives to sending traditional Christmas cards, such as sending e-cards or making a donation to charity instead.

After Christmas, try saving your cards and using them to make gift tags next year. Finally, when Christmas is over, make sure you recycle your Christmas cards by popping them into your kerbside recycling collection.”

Don’t forget to check with your district, borough or city council for any changes to kerbside recycling collection days over the holidays and there are some alterations to recycling centre opening times, so visit www.essex.gov.uk/recyclingcentres for full details.

To find your nearest electrical bank visit www.dontbinitbringit.org.