Putting Christmas lights or cards that play tunes in the bin could be a fire hazard and swapping common household items for alternatives could save you thousands of pounds as well as help the planet
Gemma, 42, husband Chris, 43, and her son Tommy Lees, 13, from Bury in Greater Manchester, were given the title of ‘Binfluencers’ after sharing their rigorous recycling routine.
They were named ‘Britain’s top binfluencer family’ by Biffa, the UK’s leading sustainable waste management company and say recycling has helped them beat the cost-of-living crisis and save thousands of pounds.
Last month Tommy was also named Bury Council’s recycling ambassador for his efforts to recycle and influence others.
We revealed in September that their dedication to recycling, as a zero-waste family for the past six years, had not only led them to save thousands of pounds with their clever swaps, but it has also helped the environment.
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As a result, they only had to have their wheelie-bin emptied every 12 weeks after setting up three waste bins in every room for paper, non-recyclables, bottles and cans and in the kitchen they have one for flexible plastics. As winners they received a shopping spree at their local Company Shop, the surplus supermarket, to stock up on Christmas goodies.
Today they have come up with their top tips for Christmas recycling for Mirror readers to follow. Gemma, 42, a Romani Gypsy, whose community pioneered the rag-and-bone recycling trade in the UK hundreds of years ago, said: “There is so much waste at Christmas with all the paper and packaging and batteries that are used for numerous decorations that if they go to the wrong place are really damaging the environment and are a fire risk.
“Tommy and I wanted to offer Mirror readers the benefit of our experience as Britain’s top binfluencers to help them do something positive for the environment this Christmas. There’s never a better time to start recycling and just taking small steps can make a massive difference to the environment. If people are thinking of new year’s resolutions to be greener in 2026 then why not make a start at Christmas.
“Just swapping kitchen roll for a washable version has saved us £1,389, using a stretch cover instead of cling film has saved us £432 and swapping kitchen foil for washable silicon sheets has saved £358 -these are just a few of the hacks but we have literally saved thousands of pounds.”
Georgia Gibson, Biffa’s Social Value Manager in Manchester, said: “It’s great to see Gemma and Tommy’s Christmas recycling tips, they are inspirational and their campaign to encourage more families to recycle is brilliant.”
To see how Biffa is helping communities reduce, reuse and recycle more, visit meet the wasteaters at www.biffa.co.uk
Gemma and Tommy’s Christmas Recycling Tips:
1. Never put batteries or items that contain batteries in the general rubbish or recycling – flashing Christmas lights or Christmas cards that play tunes because they can start fires in waste trucks or recycling centres. Instead take them to collection points at local shops or neighbourhood recycling centres.
2. Recycle wrapping paper correctly, to do this do the scrunch test, if you scrunch it into a ball and it stays scrunched up it’s likely made of paper and can be recycled, if it springs back open it’s probably got plastic or foil in it and should be disposed of in the general waste bin, make sure to remove any plastic bows or tape.
3. Unwrapping gifts can be magical but what about all the polystyrene packaging? Even though it’s plastic many councils don’t currently recycle it, so use it for packaging or crafts or take it to your local recycling centre.
4. Everything for Christmas seems to come in a cardboard box and the good news is that it’s easy to recycle. Just make sure it’s clean and dry, take off tape or labels where possible and flatten it for easier collection.
5. Shop at supermarkets that have surplus food and best before dates to save money and stop food going to landfill and on the big day just cook what you need and freeze any leftovers rather than putting excess food in the bin.
6. If in doubt, leave it out: The best thing to do if you’re not sure if something is recyclable is to put it in the general waste, apart from batteries, this helps to prevent contamination. When something dirty or non-recyclable gets mixed in with the recycling and it can lead to entire loads being rejected, wasting everyone’s recycling efforts.
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