Gordon Liberal Democrat MP, Malcolm Bruce, today encouraged people to recycle their Christmas cards as part of The Christmas Card Recycling Scheme 2005.

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Sun 2nd Jan 2005

The scheme aims to build on the success of last year's campaign which saw 45 million cards recycled which is the equivalent of saving 15,011 trees. The scheme is run by the Woodlands Trust in conjunction with WH Smith and Tesco.

Mr Bruce said:

"Every year, 100 million Christmas cards are sent out in Scotland. The vast majority of these end up in landfill sites where they contribute to greenhouse gases and climate change.

"Last year over 2 tonnes of Christmas cards were recycled through the scheme in Aberdeenshire and the aim is to double that number in January 2005."

"Recycling your old cards reduces demand on landfill and other natural resources. It also helps to preserve existing woodlands and create new ones. Old Christmas cards should not be seen as rubbish but as a valuable resource that can be turned into new paper based products.

"By simply taking your old cards down to the local recycling facilities you can help protect the environment and ensure our trees and forests are not diminished unnecessarily.

The Woodland Trust's 2005 Christmas Card Recycling Scheme will run throughout January 2005. It provides Christmas Card Recycling facilities in High Street WH Smith and Tesco's stores across Scotland.