For many people, Christmas is a period for spending time with their family and celebrating the birth of Jesus; for others it's a time when they can let their hair down and overindulge. But for the waste management team at Pembrokeshire County Council, it's one of the busiest times of the year. According to statistics, Pembrokeshire's residents can be expected to produce up to 30 per cent more waste over Christmas. But the good news is much of this waste can be recycled or re-used. "The provision for recycling has improved immeasurably in recent years and it doesn't make sense to bury waste in landfill sites anymore," says Clr. Huw George, cabinet spokesperson for the environment, planning and regulatory services. "Christmas cards and wrapping paper make up a good proportion of the refuse thrown out each year," he added. "These items can be recycled through Pembrokeshire's kerbside orange bag recycling scheme, at a recycling point or through one of our six civic amenity and recycling centres." Residents are also urged to reduce the amount of food waste they will throw out during the festive season. A significant proportion of food is wasted at this time of year, which rots in landfill releasing the greenhouse gas methane. "This is a great time to experiment in the kitchen," added Clr. George. "Any leftovers can go into making risottos, curries and salads while any vegetable peelings can be put in the compost. "We all need to do our bit to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill. If we fail to meet our landfill allowance target we will face severe financial penalties. "This would be inexcusable given we can all make a difference to the amount that we send to landfill each year. "If everyone does their bit, not only will we produce less waste, we'll have a greener Christmas too - even if we'd rather it was white!"
