How can a Christmas card save a tree? It sounds an unlikely proposition but a recycling scheme begun yesterday means that Christmas cards taken down on Twelfth Night can be used to do just that.
After the traditional day for packing away the Christmas decorations, thousands of Christmas cards are thrown out with the rubbish, not only from households but from companies and businesses all over the State.
Now, instead of this mountain of wasted paper, the Tree Council of Ireland, local authorities and Boots, the chemists, are calling on people to donate their cards for recycling. The collection of 1,200 cards means that one tree can be saved. Recycling bins will be located in Boots' branches. Last year 300,000 cards, the equivalent of saving 250 trees, were collected.
Mr John McLoughlin, president of the Tree Council of Ireland, said that this year the target had been increased to half a million and 416 trees would be saved.
"Not only will it save trees but it saves on imports as well. At present all paper has to be imported mostly from Scandinavia as there is not enough timber in this country," he said. Each year thousands of trees were used to manufacture paper. Recycling also saved on waste removed to land-fill sites.
Ms Catherine Cullen, of the chemists, said: "All funds raised from the recycling scheme will go towards various tree-planting projects around the country."
She said the environment was an important issue at the start of the millennium. It was important that everybody was aware of the environment and did what they could to avoid unnecessary waste and damage.
The recycling bins will remain in the shops until March and then the cards will be removed for processing. The Tree Council of Ireland is an umbrella organisation linking State agencies, corporate bodies and environmental groups associated with trees and their welfare.