Harrow Borough Council is encouraging people to take part in a ten week waste challenge this Christmas.

The council has teamed up with West London Waste to encourage residents to take part in the Love Christmas, Hate Waste challenge.

Anyone who signs up to the programme will be given advice on saving money and helping the environment by reducing, re-using and recycling items that might otherwise become landfill.

Those who agree to take part in the campaign will be asked to blog about what they have achieved as a means of sharing the benefits of a green Christmas with people across the borough.

Portfolio holder at Harrow Council for Environment and Community Safety, Cllr Phillip O’Dell, said: “The Love Christmas, Hate Waste challenge is a great way of making your money go further over the festive season as recycling and waste reduction saves money.

“At Christmas especially a lot of waste is generated with unwanted gifts, excess packaging and wrapping paper so it’s a great time to get into reducing, reusing and recycling.

“It’s crucial to take waste saving seriously and take steps to reduce the amount of waste we generate.

“If the council can reduce the amount of waste that is created in Harrow we can save residents money.”

During the programme there are ten themed weeks covering some of the biggest Christmas waste producers including parties and gift shopping.

Each week participants will be given tips on things they can do to reduce waste, such as creating meals with leftovers.