WE are likely to create over 3m tonnes of festive waste in the UK over Christmas.

We send more than a billion Christmas cards each year and use enough wrapping paper to cover an area larger than Guernsey.

So what can we do to lessen the impact?

Kirklees Council's environmental services section is spreading the message on bin wagons, household bins and on billboards around the district.

Clr Ann Denham, the council's Cabinet member with responsibility for environment and highways, said: "We all produce more rubbish over the festive period and the majority of this can be recycled with very little effort."

About 90% of households in Kirklees have a green wheeled bin for recycling.

And most people live within about half a mile of a recycling site, where glass, old clothing and newspapers can be taken.