With Christmas preparations in full swing, Wiltshire Council is sharing top tips on what people can do to shop more sustainably, reduce their waste, and recycle more over the festive season. 

While Christmas shopping, residents are encouraged to follow these tips where they can to reduce the chances of their gifts going to waste and to be more sustainable: 

• Choose recyclable wrapping paper. Wrapping paper made from paper and free of glitter can be recycled. Laminated or foil paper can’t. If people can scrunch it and it doesn’t spring back, then they can recycle it. 
• Think less is more – according to research carried out by Censuswide in 2022, around half of UK adults say they have received gifts they don’t want at Christmas. Choose quality items that will last a long time and that loved ones will use.  
• Save money and resources by gifting pre-loved items this Christmas – find second-hand gems that family and friends will love.  
• Give the gift that keeps on giving – treat your loved ones to a massively subsidised Green Johanna hot composter. Recommended as a Best Buy in Gardeners’ World magazine and Which. Subsidised food waste composters - Wiltshire Council. 
• This tip applies all year round. When food shopping, people should avoid plastic waste by choosing loose fruit and vegetables where they can. WRAP research has shown that if all apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose, 60,000 tonnes of food waste could be saved by enabling people to buy closer to their needs. 
• Consider gifting an experience – give the gift of memories by gifting an experience. This reduces the demand for physical resources but also gives the recipient something to look forward to after Christmas. 

People are reminded to check out The Wiltshire Marque, which shines a spotlight on food and drink that really celebrates Wiltshire, showing the local community, and beyond the produce grown, bred, fished, brewed and baked in the county. More information can be found at https://www.wiltshiremarque.co.uk/.  

Residents can follow these tips to recycle as much as possible: 

• Gift bags made from paper or card can be recycled. Gift bags made from other materials can't be recycled but they can be kept for next year and reused. 
• Plastic bags and polystyrene (typically used for packaging) cannot be disposed of in blue-lidded bins as these materials can damage the recycling processing machinery. Extra items that cannot fit inside the blue-lidded can be placed beside the bin in a suitable container, such as a plastic storage box. Paper and cardboard should be placed inside the bin to prevent it from getting wet. Wet cardboard and paper is not suitable for recycling. 
• For those signed up for garden waste collections, people can leave their real tree next to their green bin on their first scheduled collection in January to be collected for composting. Trees over 5ft should be cut into manageable pieces and placed in the garden waste container or the crew may not be able to collect. 

Ever-evolving technology means that the number of unwanted electrical items increases around Christmas as many people receive new electrical items as gifts. These electrical items cannot be disposed of in general waste or recycling bins, and this is linked to hundreds of fires at waste facilities across the country every year. People can help to prevent fires and keep staff safe by following this guidance: 

•  Electricals smaller than a 'shoe box' can be recycled using the small electricals collection service. People can simply leave these items beside their blue-lidded bin or recycling sack in a supermarket carrier bag. 
• If people have replaced batteries in Christmas lights, or are disposing of electrical items powered by batteries, they can remove the batteries and place them in a clear sealed bag next to their blue lidded-bin or recycling sack on collection day. 
• Large electrical items should be recycled at household recycling centres. 

 People can check what to do with their Christmas waste at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/Christmas-waste-donations-and-collections  

People are also being reminded there will be changes to their collection days for all household collection services over the Christmas period. The online waste collection calendar has already been updated to reflect these changes. People can check it at - Waste collection calendar - Wiltshire Council. Waste collection crews will not be working on Wednesday 25 December, Thursday 26 December and Wednesday 1 January. 
 
Garden waste collections will cease for two weeks over Christmas. The last collections will take place on Tuesday 24 December. The garden waste service will be suspended for collections scheduled for Wednesday 25 December 2024 to Tuesday 7 January 2025. Collections will resume on Thursday 9 January 2025, for those with a collection due on Wednesday 8 January 2025. Normal service will resume for all collections on Monday 13 January. Household Recycling Centres will be closed from 1pm on 24 December and all-day Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.  All other days will operate under normal opening hours on their specified opening days, which can be found at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/household-recycling-centre-locations