A widespread campaign is urging residents to recycle their Christmas waste.

Several organisations from across Kirklees and Calderdale are leading the fight to prevent Christmas items being unnecessarily dumped to reduce the impact on the environment.

Their pleas come after statistics revealed the shocking amount of products binned.

According to the government’s waste reduction body, WRAP, British people will throw away the equivalent of two million turkeys, five million Christmas puddings and a massive 74 million mince pies alone.

This is on top of 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper, 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging and one billion Christmas cards.

1st Holme Valley Scouts will be doing their good deed on January 4, when they will collect Christmas trees from homes in the Holme Valley area for £5 each.

They will then be disposed of environmentally.

Anyone interested should register by 7pm on January 3 to enable pick up by emailing gsl@1sthv.co.uk or calling 01484 682472.

Calderdale residents can recycle their used Christmas trees for free at Ogden Water Nature Reserve, north of Halifax.

Those with roots will be replanted while those without will be used to create a wildlife hedgerow and safety barrier around the reservoir.

Calderdale Council’s area countryside officer, Chris Sutcliffe, said: “Ogden Water was a pioneer in using Christmas trees in this way and the trees that we receive are greatly appreciated.

“We have previously had over 2,000 donated – around £70,000 worth of Christmas trees – but each year we still need more.

“They are laid around the edge of the reservoir and give the whole place a boost of colour in our coldest and dullest months.

“As the seasons move on, the hedgerows provide a home for birds, insects, mammals and fungi, as nettles and brambles grow through the trees, creating a perfect habitat for wildlife.”

Volunteers are needed to help replant the trees and lay the barrier.

For details call Chris on 07769 954956.

Calderdale Council has asked all residents to compost and recycle as much as possible.

Food waste should be placed in household compost bins to be collected by the service.

The Barnardos charity, which has stores in Huddersfield’s New Street and Battye Street in Heckmondwike, has asked for those with unwanted gifts to donate them to find new uses with someone else.

The children’s charity said that an estimated £2.4 billion worth of gifts given at Christmas are not wanted and one third of those ending up gathering dust in people’s houses.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan, said: “Barnardo’s stores are dependent upon the public’s kind donations.

“Our profits go directly into our work with some of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people.

“If you receive a gift at Christmas that you know you won’t use then please think of Barnardo’s and how your item can be enjoyed by someone else whilst benefiting the children who need it most.”