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Santa’s dreaming of a green Christmas

Aberdeen City Council’s Waste Aware team has once more teamed up with pupils at local primary schools for the annual Green Santa toy collection campaign.

The generous youngsters from across the city have been clearing out their unwanted toys to help charities raise money in the run up to Christmas.

Pupils from Ashley Road, Hanover Street, Milltimber and Tullos primary schools will take part in the campaign by gathering up the toys they no longer need to help raise vital funds for Shelter, Sue Ryder Care, The New Hope Trust, Somebody Cares, Barnardos and PDSA Torry. The Green Santa campaign also aims to drive home the Waste Aware team’s Reduce, Reuse and Recycle message.

Santa has enlisted the help of city councillor John Stewart to collect the toys.

Cllr Stewart said: “This is a fantastic initiative and it is heart-warming to see Aberdeen’s youngsters demonstrate their generosity once more. I know for a fact that everything we collect will be warmly received by the charities and they too will be impressed with the children’s kind gestures, especially at this time of year.”

The Waste Aware team will coordinate the collection effort and ensure the donated toys meet Health and Safety regulations and the charities’ specifications.

Council community waste worker Dawn Tatton said: “The Waste Aware team love this project and look forward to it every year. A toy that has been loved by someone else can make a wonderful new gift for another child. By donating unwanted toys we can help teach youngsters the importance of sharing, caring for the environment and lending support to good causes. We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all the children, schools and charities involved in the Green Santa toy collection for their valuable contribution to this project.”

Councillor Aileen Malone, convener of the council’s Housing and Environment committee, added: “An estimated 44 million toys, which are still in working order, are discarded every year in the UK, with more than 13 million ending up in landfill. Christmas is the ideal time to encourage children to clear out their old toys to make room for the new ones that Santa might bring.”

There are a number of ways of ensuring unwanted toys do not end up on landfill, including:

• donating to local charity shops;

• asking your local nursery or playgroup if they would like some toys;

• taking the unwanted toys to a youth club;

• passing the toys to family members, friends or neighbours if they are willing to give them a good home;

• trying to sell the toys in a car boot sale, advertise them on the Freecycle website or on an online auction site like eBay.

For more information about Waste Aware Aberdeen’s festive campaign and to find out ways of reducing waste, visit www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/wasteawarexmas. Alternatively e-mail wasteaware@aberdeencity.gov.uk or call 08456 08 09 19.

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