How to reduce your festive footprint

* Out of 8 million Christmas trees bought last year, only about 1 million were recycled. Most councils run a recycling scheme, so log on to to find out how to go about getting rid of yours in the greenest possible way. Real trees absorb an estimated 5 million tons of CO2 per year, so forget buying a plastic version and go for the real deal.

* Last year, 125,000 tons of plastic wrapping were ditched after the big day, according to the Recycling Consortium. When shopping for gifts, decorations and edible goodies, look for those with the least packaging to avoid leaving a lasting impression on landfill sites.

* Households in England will create an additional three quarters of a million tonnes of waste over Christmas – including over one billion Christmas cards. The Woodland Trust and Recycle Now hope to recycle a record 100 million cards through participating WHSmith, Tesco, TK Maxx and Marks & Spencer stores to help the Trust plant 24,000 trees.

* Britain's bins are filled with an extra 750 million bottles and 500 million drinks cans after Christmas. There's no excuse not to recycle those extra containers so fill up your recycling box and visit the local bottle banks – or don't drink so much in the first place!

* Academics at the University of Manchester estimate that producing a dinner for eight people generates 20kg of CO2 emissions. Reduce the impact of your spread by buying local, seasonal produce, cooking food in the oven rather than using the hob and composting vegetables and suitable leftovers.

* Fairy lights can add £75 to your electricity bill and result in 500kg more CO2 emissions per household, say researchers at the Environment Institute at the University of York. Buy energy-efficient LED fairy lights or restrict lighting up to a couple of hours in the evening.

For more ideas visit http://www.recyclenow.com/