We all know Christmas creates waste, but what can you do about it?

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You're up to your knees in wrapping paper, there are cardboard boxes strewn all over the place and that doesn't even compare to the groaning mountain of packaging, cans and bottles clogging up the kitchen. When confronted with such a deluge of discarded material, it's tempting to stick it all in a bin bag and hope it goes away. After all, where can you take those broken Christmas lights and that sad looking Christmas tree when the festivities are over? 

Looking at some statistics produced by Recycle Now, it's breathtaking that the UK used approximately 364,700 km of wrapping paper last year. This is enough to stretch around the equator 9 times.  

So what can you do with all this waste? Here are some tips to keep your Christmas eco-friendly...

Wrapping paper

The fun option: After sifting through many ideas, ranging from making next year's Christmas cards to using it to line drawers, i'm certain that you can find a use of your own for any especially lovely wrapping paper you can't let go of just yet. Here's the best list of ideas I could find, via Instructables. 

The 'get rid' option: After it's been ripped open and chewed by the dog, you may just want to get rid. It can go into your normal kerbside paper bin to be collected, however it's worth checking your council website to make sure. 

Christmas Tree

The fun option: There are some great tips and tricks from thisoldhouse.com for those who have time and a garden (or friends with allotments etc). Involves putting various parts of the tree to good use. 

The 'get rid' option: Look out for flyers or a sticker on your wheelie bin telling you when and where council collection will take place. It's likely that there will be a communal area where you can drop off your tree in January. The mulch from the trees can be used in local parks and woodlands, so make sure you don't miss the pick up date. 

Broken Christmas lights 

The fun option: If they work, sell them or pass them on. Otherwise, there isn't much fun to be had with this tangled mass. 

The 'get rid' option: Look at the plug or battery pack on the lights. If it has a crossed out wheelie bin it means it can be recycled. Your best bet is to use WasteConnect.co.uk to find your nearest bring bank or recycling centre. Also, you can search 'WEEE recycling *insert location here*' and it's likely that you will easily find somewhere to discard of your lights in an environmentally friendly way. 

Excess Bottles, Paper and Cardboard

The fun option: obviously there are various things that can be done with these common household wastes. For example you can use cardboard boxes for storage, make some liquor lamps or get even more creative with these ideas.

The 'get rid' option: Visit Wasteconnect.co.uk for fact sheets on how to recycle these items. Kerbside collection normally does the trick, however if your bins are overflowing you may want to find your local bring bank for any excess. 

Food Waste

The fun option: This is a hot topic right now, with the Love Food Hate Waste Campaign in full swing and spin offs such as The Pig Idea gaining lots of media attention. Firstly, really think about how much you need using  Secondly, think of some ways in which you plan to deal with leftovers. Aside from turkey sandwiches, here are some recipes for typical 'eyes bigger than stomach' scenarios and here is a fun advent calendar full of waste saving tips.

The 'get rid' option: Unless you have a compost bin or a dog, it can be difficult to get rid of food waste. Some councils have handed out food waste caddys for kitchens, however not all households benefit from this scheme. This means it's even more vital that planning takes place so all that delicious food is eaten or composted and not binned!

Artificial tree, duplicate gifts or old stuff that has been replaced by shiny new things? Ebay, charity shops or friends and family are your best bet for passing it on in an eco-friendly way. 

What happens when you sign up to Green Achiever

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I thought i'd take this opportunity to 'reboot' the Green Achiever blog and to share with you what happens when you sign up with the Green Achiever Scheme. 

Step 1 - Registration 

Every single business that has had anything to do with the Green Achiever Scheme has to register first. This process involves filling in some details and a short questionnaire about your green practices. Once this is done, the team gets an e-mail that is then processed in order to a) get your details onto our Green Business Directory and to b) compose an 'Environmental Healthcheck'. The purpose of this document is to give you some information on which environmental laws will apply to you to make sure you are compliant. 

This level of membership lasts for three months. We do this because, whilst it is great that you are showing intention to be a green business/gain green credentials, we want Green Achiever businesses to make some progress - with guidance from us of course. 

Step 2 - Self-Assessed Award

Some businesses go straight to this level, however most Green Achievers will be with us as 'Registered' before they take the next step. We charge £120+ VAT for this service because it's more labour intensive for us and, for you, there are many more benefits. 

After payment, we send you a form which is pretty in-depth. It's important that this is answered as carefully and as honestly as possible so we get an accurate idea of where you are with environmental matters. If we get your form back with all boxes ticked, it makes it really tough to judge what you ACTUALLY do and what you've claimed to do. Either way, you probably won't get 5 stars via this route - it would be unfair on all the other businesses. 

Once we get the form back, we do a few things with your answers. First we check out your website to get an idea of what kind of business you are. This is important because we then carry out a 'Star rating' process which determines your overall score. From your answers, we then make an Environmental Declaration of Commitment or a 'policy'.  This is a very handy document. Display online, in a frame on the wall, use it to apply for tenders or keep it for use in employee handbooks. The best bit is that, when you renew your membership the year after, we take into account your progress and this is incorporated into the policy. You also get a certificate, a years listing on the directory plus fortnightly environmental updates. 

Step 3 - Silver & Gold Awards

Silver and Gold awards are for any business that:

• Is serious about proving their green credentials. 
• Needs higher level accreditation to compete with others in their industry. 
• Is aiming for ISO 14001 and wants a 'stepping stone' to help it along. 
• Seeks cost savings through making changes to environmental operations on a day to day basis.
• Wishes to benefit from substantial PR opportunities arising from going over and above what is expected from businesses. 
• Would benefit from guidance, year on year, to continuously improve and reduce its environmental impact and to also stay on top of new legislation. 
• Trades in an industry where environmental legislation is particularly 'tight' and needs to stay on top of its environmental impact. 

These levels are entirely different from Self-Assessed because we come to you. Our fantastic auditor, Debbie, comes to your site to see what you actually do. This isn't a test, it's just so that we get a thorough idea of how your business works so we can then identify areas in which improvements can be made. This may be small things like "Your waste plasterboard needs segregating from general waste" to bigger actions like "You have a south facing roof - perhaps look into installing solar panels". All these actions are agreed and we set loose deadlines to encourage progress. 

This level costs between £330 and £660 depending on the number of employees you have which is a competitive rate in comparison with other environmental certification/awards/accreditation. 

As long as there is green ambition, continuous improvements year on year and the commitment is real, we are happy to award accreditation - it's as simple as that. 

Olympic Torch Reaches Shrewsbury

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Today the Green Achiever team, along with hundreds of others, gathered on the streets of Shrewsbury to watch the Olympic Torch relay.

It was a once in a lifetime oppurtunity that we will never forget, as it head over the Welsh Bridge at about 12.20pm and then off towards Wenlock Road. The runners were escorted along bby many policemen on bikes and sponsor vehicles such as Coca-Cola and Lloyds playing music to warm up the cheering crowd.

Fran was the best photographer within the team, taking this photo of our section runner, Georgios Alexandris.
http://www.e4environment.co.uk/general-news/the-olympic-torch-arrives-in-shrewsbury---300512