A COUNTY Durham waste firm is urging people to recycle their Christmas rubbish.

Premier Waste Management, at Aykley Heads in Durham, runs the 'Kerb-it' kerbside recycling scheme for 410,000 households including the Durham, Sedgefield, Chester-le-Street and Easington areas.

It is behind a pioneering aerobic digester scheme at Thornley, which turns waste into compost, that could be extended to a site at Tursdale, near Ferryhill. It is also planning an "eco-friendly'' landfill site, near Wingate.

It is urging people to get into recycling during the festive period, when the amount of waste increases, and continue the habit throughout next year.

"We eat and drink more than at any other time of the year and recycling is the best way to get rid of those extra glass bottles, jars and cans," said Gary Whitehead, the company's recycling director.

Kerb-it boxes take glass, cans and paper but WH Smith, Tesco and the Woodland Trust have card recycling schemes and householders can recycle their Christmas trees through council-run schemes.

Mr Whitehead said: "The more we recycle the less we need to bury at landfill sites and the more natural resources we can save.

"The Christmas facts and figures show just how much more we could all do to the save the planet."

Among the Christmas waste statistics are the fact that up to 30 per cent more glass jars are used but only a small percentage will get recycled.

The company says more than six million trees were bought last Christmas, most of which were thrown out after the festivities.