Published:04 January 2011

Article Published: 01/01/2011

Shoppers can bring some New Year cheer to charity while also helping the environment by recycling their used Christmas cards at Morrisons.

It is estimated that one billion Christmas cards are sent every year in the UK and to help prevent as many as possible from ending up in landfill sites, Morrisons are again partnering with The Salvation Army to roll out a Christmas card recycling service. Last year, Morrisons and The Salvation Army collected over 187 tonnes of used Christmas cards, which is more than 13.7 million cards saved from landfill.

Working with Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL), which is the trading arm of The Salvation Army, recycling bins for used Christmas cards will be introduced at all 437 Morrisons stores across the UK. From 2nd January 2011, the recycling bins will be positioned in a convenient area close to the store entrance and the checkouts and will remain in stores until 31st January 2011.

Charles Crowther, Morrisons Group Recycling Specialist, said: “We are delighted to offer our customers the Christmas card recycling service for the fourth year running. The service is both quick and easy to use and we hope as many people as possible will take advantage of the scheme to keep their used cards from landfill while supporting The Salvation Army in the process.”

Paul Ozanne, national recycling coordinator, Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL) said: “At SATCoL we’re usually involved in recycling and reusing clothing and other textiles but we are very pleased to be working with Morrisons on this fantastic scheme to help recycle unwanted Christmas cards. It’s important to divert as many unwanted cards as possible from landfill.”


He added: “In the last three years SATCoL has gift aided £16 million to The Salvation Army Trust to support its social welfare work, from all the collection schemes it operates, and we are pleased to be working again with Morrisons in collecting the Christmas cards.  Recycling your Christmas cards is both easy and convenient and it’s an excellent way to be environmentally and socially conscious at the same time.”

Customers can find other information on how they can recycle at http://www.recycle-more.com