In December the county council asked households to reduce the amount of rubbish produced during the holiday period, estimated nationally to total around £1,700 of unwanted goods and services per person.

Those requests were heeded, it was claimed this week, with evidence of an increase in recycling and less items being consigned to landfill.

County council spokesman Jack Linstead said: “All of the recycling centres, including Princes Drive in Leamington, have reported that they are exceptionally busy, particularly with cardboard from packaging and cartons and bottles from New Year parties.

“People have heeded the call and made excellent efforts to get out there and recycle. The red boxes have been used well too. It is encouraging and we hope that level of activity will be maintained.”

He endorsed the Woodland Trust’s Christmas card recycling scheme, which last year handled 93 million cards - producing enough profit from pulp to allow 22,000 trees to be planted. All WH Smith, Tesco, M&S and TKMaxx stores currently have special collection bins.

Those who have made environmentally-friendly resolutions can also take their Christmas trees along to recycling centres at Hintons Nursery, in Coventry Road, Warwick, Hurrans Garden Centre, in Myton Road, Leamington, Crackley Lane Nursery in Kenilworth and Smith’s, in Stoneleigh Road, Baginton, until January 18.

Holly and ivy can be placed in the green garden waste collection bins, a service which resumed as usual on Monday.

The county also hopes residents will take advantage of the 80 per cent subsidy on composting bins available until the end of March. The largest 330-litre size currently costs £10, but prices could almost double when pilot funding dries up in April.

Visit www.recyclenow.com/compost or call 0845 0770757, quoting HCA1.

In response to “scare stories” in the national press, Coun Martin Heatley (Con, Nuneaton Whitestone), who has special responsibility for the environment also moved this week to reassure residents energy-saving, sodium and fluorescent bulbs can be disposed of at all nine of Warwickshire’s recycling centres.

He said: “When broken these items can release phosphor dust and toxic mercury vapour, therefore it is essential we discard of them responsibly.

“The last thing we want is for people to switch off recycling, so if you have used a low energy bulb or fluorescent tube, please visit your local recycling centre, where an attendant will advise you where to deposit your waste.”

Details of recycling centres can be found at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/recyclewarks

More general information is available at:

www.warwickshire.gov.uk/waste

www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

l Christmas cards can be recycled throughout January at WH Smith, Tesco and Marks and Spencer stores in Warwick district. The Woodland Trust and Recycle Now are running the scheme with Warwickshire County Council.