Eco Friendly Ways to Tidy Up After Christmas

Christmas is a time of excess - and fun! - and that can lead to a lot of waste once the festivities are over. Even if you've made every effort to reduce your waste in the run up to Christmas, you'll probably still have some festive leftovers to dispose of. Read on for eco friendly ways to deal with your left over Christmas rubbish.

Christmas Tree Disposal

Putting the endless "real or fake?" Christmas tree debate aside, you probably had a tree of some description this year. If you had a fake tree, you should definitely keep it for years and years, because that's the best way to minimise its carbon footprint. 10 years is the figure to beat, so keep at it!

If you have a real tree slowly shedding pine needles in your front room, the time has come to say goodbye. You can take it to any of Liverpool City Council's recycling centres - though be aware their hours are reduced this time of year. Alternatively, you can take it to any of the council's Christmas Tree Drop off points:

L4: Stanley Park, Priory Road car park

L5: Everton Park, Viewing Platform, Netherfield Road North

L7: Newsham Park, Gardener’s Drive, Sheil Road end

L8: Sefton Park, Review Field, Ullet Road Gate

L11: Croxteth Park, Oak Lane car park

L15: Wavertree Park, Tennis Centre car park

L17: Otterspool Promenade, first car park

L18: Calderstones Park, Calderstones Road car park

L18: Calderstones Park, Yew Tree Road car park

L18: Menlove Avenue Triangle, Menlove Gardens/Green lane

L19: Long Lane Recreation Ground, Garston

L24: Alderfield Road, Speke, by Millwood

L25: Woolton High Street, Boys Club car park

Trees taken to any of these places will be shredded and turned into chippings for compost.

If the idea of putting a Christmas tree in your car fills you with dread, there are often collections made by people raising money for charity or other endeavours. They will come to your house and collect your tree for you for a small fee, and then take it off to be properly disposed of. Keep your eyes on social media or ask around if your friends and family know of anyone doing collections.

Wrapping Paper

So much wrapping paper is recyclable these days - but make sure yours is before you recycle it. A trick to see if it is: scrunch it in your hand and if it springs back to shape, it isn't recyclable. Anything with glitter or anything like that isn't recyclable either.

Once you've identified your recyclable wrapping paper, make sure you remove all sticky tape and gift tags before you pop it in your blue bin.

Tip for next year though, use paper tape like the one below, as it's also recyclable! Easy!

If you went a step further and used reusable wrapping paper e.g. fabric - get it back and use it next year!

Christmas cards

A fun way to reuse any Christmas cards you've been sent is to cut them up and make them into gift tags! Literally the easiest craft. You don't even need a hole punch and ribbon, just use the aforementioned paper tape to stick them to presents next year.

Leftover Food

If you've got any non perishable food still left over from the festivities, and you can't look another biscuit til at least February, why not donate it to a food bank, or pop it on Olio and see if any of your neighbours want it!

Unwanted Gifts

It's so disappointing to unwrap a present from under the tree to find something you don't want - and even worse when it's your kid's present and they tell Aunty Janet it's the worst thing they've ever seen!

Chances are, however, there's someone else out there who wants that thing you can't even bear to have in the house (no accounting for taste!), so need to leave it festering in the back of a cupboard til your next sort out. Charity shops are inundated at this time of year, so why not try selling it on Vinted, eBay or Gumtree, or just giving it away on Olio, which now has a "non food" option.

Hopefully with all these tips, you'll be able to restore your home to a pre-Christmas level of chaos without overflowing your purple bin! Happy New Year!